WhatsApp has had a small but useful feature for a couple of years now, and it's one you may not know about, but you'll probably use a lot once you do.
If you haven't guessed from the title of this article, the feature in question is HD photos and videos, that is, the ability to send photos and videos in HD quality.
Below we will explain how to do this, both for individual files and for a persistent configuration.
How to send HD photos and videos on WhatsApp
To send a photo or HD video on WhatsApp, first open the chat you want to send the file to, then, if you're taking a new photo or video, tap the camera icon. Then take the photo or record the video and tap the 'HD' icon. Doing this will allow you to choose between standard and HD quality.
If you want to attach an existing photo or video, on iOS tap the '+' icon followed by 'Photos', while on Android you'll want to tap the clip icon followed by 'Gallery'.
In any case, you must select the photos or videos you want to send, then tap the “HD” icon and tap the send button.
Please note that if you are using mobile data, it may ask you to confirm that you want to continue sending HD media without Wi-Fi, in which case simply tap “Continue.”
How to set HD quality as default
The above approach lets you choose whether you want to send photos and videos in HD each time you send one, but if you just want to use HD by default, that's an option too. To do that, simply do the following:
- 1. Open WhatsApp and tap 'Settings' eyelash
- 2. Tap 'Storage and data'
- 3. Under the “Media Quality” heading, tap “Charging quality'
- 4. Tap 'high definition quality'
How to automatically download HD photos and videos
The above covers how to send HD photos and videos, but if you want to automatically download HD versions of the photos and videos sent to you, there are other settings you'll want to tweak. To do this, do the following:
- 1. Open WhatsApp and tap 'Settings' eyelash
- 2. Tap 'Storage and data'
- 3. Under the “Media Quality” heading, tap “Audio download quality'
- 4. Tap 'high definition quality'
Things to keep in mind
Note that HD files are obviously larger, so if you use mobile data and don't have an unlimited plan, you may want to stick with standard quality. Additionally, HD files will take up more space on your device and cloud storage if they are backed up.
Therefore, HD photos and videos also take longer to send, so on a slow connection, standard quality may be preferable.
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