Technology

WhatsApp now lets you share photos in glorious HD

WhatsApp HD

WhatsApp just launched a feature that was on many users’ wish lists: the ability to share photos in higher quality.

The feature, announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook, appears when you choose a photo you want to share. It’s a small “HD” button on top, allowing you to choose between standard or HD quality resolution.

There are a couple of caveats. The option won’t show up if the photo stored on your phone isn’t particularly high quality (this will often happen with photos you’ve downloaded from the internet or from, cough, WhatsApp and similar services). Also, there doesn’t appear to be a way to keep the HD option on by default; you have to manually enable it every time you share photos with someone.

WhatsApp HD
The HD quality resolution that WhatsApp offers is the same as the original photo’s resolution. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable/WhatsApp

Still, it’s a massive upgrade over the regular variant, and a must when you share documents that need to be preserved in high quality (especially those with barcodes on them), as well as photos you really care about.

WhatsApp has been on a tear in recent months, adding numerous new features and options. Most recently, this includes an AI sticker generator, the ability to edit messages, and the ability to hide your status.

Mashable