Photos shared in WhatsApp could soon be preserved at the original quality, according to a recent beta version of the Android app.
While users can currently select a ‘Best’ quality image upload in the main WhatApp settings (alongside Data saver and Auto), those images are still compressed.
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WABetaInfo spotted a new Settings icon alongside the image editing tools that appear when users prepare to share an image. Behind this cog will be a Photo Quality menu that will include ‘Original’. This could be really handy if you’re sending an image to a person who plans to use it for more than just gazing at within the app.
Preserving the original quality means preserving all of those pixels and the data attached to the photo, which could allow users more flexibility when editing the photo. It could be an easier solution than using an app like Dropbox to share the photos at their original quality.
It seems unlikely the option will be applied to video sharing too, because the footage captured by modern smartphones can quickly run into the gibabytes rather than the few megabytes for photos.
WABetaInfo says the option has only been spotted within the 2.23.2.11 beta and it might be a while before it rolls out to the Android app. It hasn’t yet appeared in the iOS version of the beta, according to the report.
The new features keep coming for WhatsApp. This week the company launched the ability to message yourself, while it began testing the ability to use a voice recording as a status update.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.