The Meta-owned instant messaging app, WhatsApp has started rolling out HD photo sharing for all users on the chat application.
The feature will be rolled out by Meta to users over the next few weeks. With the latest update, users will be able to share high-quality and high-resolution images in their WhatsApp chats from both Android and iOS.
Furthermore, WhatsApp Web and desktop users will be able to send images that will be accompanied by a small ‘HD’ icon. Similar to WhatsApp messages, audio, and other sharable formats, HD photos are protected using end-to-end encryption. Meta has also announced that support for sending HD videos is coming soon. Meta CEO Mr. Mark Zuckerberg announced the rollout of the feature via a Facebook post.
According to the statement, “When adding an image to a chat thread, users will see an HD icon. The feature was tested earlier this year on the beta channel in June. Images with an HD resolution are clearer, but they also consume more data, when they are transferred, and more storage space, compared to non-HD images.”
While Standard Quality remains the default option for sending photos, users can now choose to upgrade their photos to HD on a photo-by-photo basis. This ensures that sharing photos over WhatsApp remains fast and reliable, even when you have low bandwidth connectivity.
How does WhatsApp’s new feature work?
Most of the process of sharing HD-quality images is the same as before. However, there will be one extra step to send the HD quality image instead of the standard quality.
“First of all, you need to tap on the share image option and then you can select the HD image you want to share. Once selected, you’ll see an option named ‘HD’ on the top center of the screen. Tap that. You will then see the option to either select standard quality or high quality. All you need to do then is just hit the share button,” as per the statement.
