How to Send Original-Size Pictures on Whatsapp From iPhone and Android

Sharing messages and media on WhatsApp is a breeze. However, one common challenge that everyone faces is sending media without compromising on the quality. By default, WhatsApp compresses images, not just reducing their file size, but also loss of image quality. Thankfully, there are several ways to send original-size pictures on WhatsApp from iPhone and Android.

Send original-size pictures on WhatsApp from iPhone and Android

File compression is a common process for all major platforms. So, whether you want to email a high-quality image, or upload original-quality images on Instagram, you need to tweak some settings or find workarounds. This article covers multiple ways to send full-resolution photos on WhatsApp.

1. Send Picture as Document on WhatsApp from iPhone or Android

A nifty way is to send the image as a document which will freeze the resolution as it is. There are two steps to sending original-size pictures on WhatsApp,

Step 1: Save the Image to Files – Launch the Photos app → open the photo → tap the Share icon → select Save to Files.

Tap Share and then Save to Files

Step 2: Send Photo as WhatsApp – Launch WhatsApp → open chat → tap + → select Document → attach the photo.

Send image as Document on WhatsApp

You’ll observe that when sharing as a document, WhatsApp doesn’t compress the image at all. If you can ignore the slight inconvenience of saving and sending pictures as documents on WhatsApp from iPhone or Android, this is one of the best ways.

The file size of the document is same as the image

2. Send High-Quality Image From WhatsApp

Understanding its user’s concerns WhatsApp has introduced a feature that lets manage the photo update quality. Although limited in options, you can switch between high-quality or data-saver settings.

To do so, go to Settings → Storage and Data → Media Upload Quality → select Best quality to ensure that your WhatsApp sends high-quality images always.

Go to Settings → Storage & data → Media Upload Quality → select Best quality

Although the setting allows you to share comparatively high-quality images, it does not send original-size pictures on WhatsApp. See the screenshot below to observe the difference in sizes, from the original to the one shared on WhatsApp.

Compression of sending images via WhatsApp

3. Use WhatsApp Web to Send High-Quality Pictures

Although WhatsApp uses compression even when sharing images via WhatsApp Web or WhatsApp’s desktop app, it’s comparatively lesser than the mobile app.

Size difference between original and sent via WhatsApp

But again, this method is only feasible when the images are already on your desktop, or you have multiple images to share, moreover, you have an easy way to transfer files between your devices (Android/Windows or Apple devices).

4. Share a Link via Google Photos or iCloud Photos

While it’s a wise idea to sync/backup your photos to Google Drive or iCloud, you can also use this feature to share high-quality images via WhatsApp. However, you can also manually upload the images to Google Photos/Drive or create an iCloud Shared photo library.

Then all you have to do is share this link with your contact on WhatsApp. Although technically, you’re not really sharing images through WhatsApp, this hack works just fine, especially if you want collaborative photo sharing.

5. Create a PDF and Share

PDFs have many benefits including preserving the resolution of the images. So, you can convert one or more images into PDFs and share the PDF file on WhatsApp. The easiest method to do so on iPhone or Android is to select the photos you want to convert → Print → Save as PDF.

Tap Share → Print
Tap Share → Save to Files

Although do keep in mind that it’s not that easy to convert the PDF back to images. So this one’s a great hack if you want the receivers just to view and not really use the photos, otherwise, you can totally skip this one.

How to Send High-Quality Images on WhatsApp

Preserving the original resolution of your photos or videos is crucial to cherish the memories captured through your camera. Embrace these techniques and bid farewell to the loss of image quality while sharing photos on WhatsApp.

And just like the hacks with images, we have also covered ways to send high-quality videos on WhatsApp, do check it out.

Last updated on 24 July, 2023

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