WhatsApp is among the most popular messaging apps in the world, and for a good reason — its full features make it an incredibly powerful communication tool. But like other social networking apps for iPhone, it’s notorious for compressing images, making the photos you share end up with poor quality.
There’s a hack that lets you send photos without losing quality on WhatsApp. You can send them as documents! Want to know how it works? Read on.
- Why you should send photos as documents on WhatsApp?
- How to share photos as documents in WhatsApp on iPhone
- Alternative ways to send photos without losing quality
Why you should send photos as documents on WhatsApp?
WhatsApp uses in-built features to automatically compress files shared between contacts to improve connectivity, space, and data among its users.
The downside is the loss of resolution, which means that the pixels of the original file shared with you aren’t the same as those in the one you received. This can be little to as high as 98%, which isn’t ideal if you need HD or raw images, especially if you need them for editing and other professional use.
The best way to send photos without losing quality on WhatsApp is to send them as a document file.
- Go to the Photos app on your iPhone → locate the photo you want to send.
- Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen.
- Select Save to Files.
- Select the folder where you want to save your image, then select Save.
- Now launch WhatsApp on your iPhone.
- Select the contact you want to share the image with.
- Tap the Add (+) button → Document.
- Navigate Files and tap the image you saved.
- You should see a blue checkmark at the center of the picture. Select Open → Send.
Change the file extension
Sometimes, WhatsApp may still compress your file even after you send it as a document. Another trick is to change the file’s extension before sending it to the recipient, who can then replace the file’s extension name with its original extension to be able to open the image on their device.
- Same as above, choose the image or images you wish to forward and save them on Files.
- Tap and hold the image and select Rename.
- Change the image’s file extension to doc or docx.
- A prompt will appear. Select Use .docx.
- Once saved, open WhatsApp and send the file to the recipient. Don’t forget to tell them to change the file extension back to its original extension!
Alternative ways to send photos without losing quality
If sending the file through WhatsApp seems arduous, you can try other options.
- If you want to send it to another iPhone user, use AirDrop to share original quality photos and videos on iPhone.
- The other common way of sharing high-res files is to upload them to Google Drive and simply send the link to the recipient.
- The third option is to send the image via email. There’s an option to send a smaller photo via Mail, so select Actual Size in the choices before tapping Send.
Wrapping up…
Now you know how to keep your image quality intact when sending files on WhatsApp. Remember to use the tricks above to give the recipient the best image they’d love to see. Share away!
Read more:
- How to use WhatsApp Avatar on iPhone and Android
- 25+ Cool WhatsApp Tips and Tricks for iPhone
- How to use WhatsApp Status on iPhone (Complete guide)
- How to send HD photos in WhatsApp on iPhone and Mac
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Rachel loves anything Apple —from iPhones, to Apple Watches, to MacBooks. She is also a medical writer and a ghostwriter for various publications.
