Media files sent as documents don’t display a preview in WhatsApp, but you can view them in-app by tapping on them. | Illustration: The Verge
WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature on iOS that allows users to share photos and videos as a document to preserve their original quality. As spotted by WABetaInfo the official changelog provided alongside WhatsApp’s 23.24.73 update on iOS notes that users can now “easily send original quality media as a file,” as an alternative to the compressed approaches the communications app defaults to.
This feature was spotted being tested by a small subset of users in November, but is now releasing to all iOS users. The changelog notes that this is rolling out “over the coming weeks” so it may take a while to appear on your device, but when it does you can access it by tapping the “+” in chat, selecting “Document” and then “Choose Photo or Video.” Once sent, recipients can tap into the file on WhatsApp to view photos and videos, but previews don’t seem to appear in the main chat interface. There’s a 2GB limit on the files that can be sent using the feature.
Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge
Images and videos sent as documents don’t show previews in the main chat interface.
WhatsApp has also been testing the same feature for Android users since at least September this year, which suggests a stable release for Android devices may not be too far behind.
Previous workarounds have existed to send full-resolution photos and videos via WhatsApp that involved manually changing its file extension to PDF or DOC. Removing that extra work streamlines things considerably for users, providing an easier way to share high-quality media alongside the HD Pictures update that WhatsApp released this summer. We have reached out to WhatsApp to clarify when Android users can expect the same update and will update this article if we hear back.
