4 Easy Ways to Share High-Quality Photos on WhatsApp

Key Takeaways

  • To use WhatsApp’s HD photo-sharing feature, first open WhatsApp’s media sharing menu and select “Photos” or “Gallery.” Tap “HD” at the top of the screen and then select the “HD Quality” option. Then select and send your photot.
  • You can also send a photo as a document to preserve quality, or compress multiple high-quality images into a single ZIP. The receiver can extract each image individually.


Isn’t it frustrating when you share an image on WhatsApp and the app compresses it? From using WhatsApp’s latest HD photo-sharing feature to sending an image as a document, there are several ways to share high-quality photos on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp’s image compression could be tiresome, especially when trying to share a beautiful picture with many details and textures. Usually, the instant messaging app compresses an image to a fraction of its original size, which leads to the loss of minute features.

However, there are a few methods to send pictures in their original size. Some of them involve the use of third-party apps, but they are safe and reliable.


Use WhatsApp’s HD Photos Sharing Feature

In August 2023, the Meta-owned communication app released a new feature that helps users share photos in higher resolution, thereby retaining more detail than its compressed version.

First, download and install the latest version available on App Store or Play Store to get the feature. It is available on both iPhone and Android phones.

Send HD Photos on WhatsApp for iPhone

Open WhatsApp and head to a chat. Tap on the ‘+’ icon in the bottom left corner.

WhatsApp chatbox with an arrow highlighting the attachment icon

Choose Photos from the menu that opens, and then select the required image.

WhatsApp attachment menu with an arrow highlighting the Photos option

On the image preview screen, tap the HD icon at the top.

WhatsApp image preview section with an arrow highlighting the HD icon

Select “HD quality” in the menu at the bottom of the screen and hit Done.

WhatsApp HD quality menu highlighting the HD option and Done button

A prompt will confirm the selection of HD quality.

WhatsApp image preview screen with HD quality confirmation prompt

Now, hit the Send button in the bottom right corner.

WhatsApp image preview screen with an arrow highlighting the Send button

You’ll see that the image is marked as HD in the WhatsApp chatbox.

WhatsApp chatbox highlighting the HD watermark on an image

Send HD Photos on WhatsApp for Android

Open a WhatsApp chat. Tap the paperclip icon at the bottom.

Arrow next to the attachment button in WhatsApp for Android

Select Gallery from the menu that pops up and choose an image.

WhatsApp attachment menu with an arrow next to the Gallery option

Select the HD icon at the top.

WhatsApp image preview screen highlighting the HD icon at the top

Choose “HD Quality” under Photo Quality.

HD quality selector on WhatsApp for Android

Hit the green send arrow at the bottom right.

WhatsApp image preview screen with an arrow next to the send button

The image will appear with an HD mark in the bottom left corner.

WhatsApp chatbox with an arrow next to the HD watermark of an image

If you wish to know more about different image formats, such as JPG (the one which WhatsApp uses), and PNG, check out our article on the difference between them.

Send the Image as a Document on WhatsApp

Although WhatsApp allows you to share pictures in HD mode, it still doesn’t send the image in the maximum possible size. Upon analyzing, we’ve figured that even the HD mode sends images in about a third of their original size. This is great if you want to send a document or a cool picture you clicked with your friend.

However, by sending a picture as a document, you send the entire file on your device without any loss in data (or quality). On iPhone, you must save a picture to Files before sharing it as a document.

Share Images as Documents on WhatsApp for iPhone

Open the Photos app and select the particular picture. Tap Share in the bottom left.

Photos app with an arrow next to the Share button

On the following screen, scroll down and choose “Save to Files.”

Image sharing menu with highlighting the Save to Files option

Now select the destination of the file at the top.

My Files app highlighting the destination of a file

Name the file at the bottom of the screen.

Files app with the option to rename image

Tap on Save in the top right corner.

Files app with an arrow next to the Save button

Open the WhatsApp chat where you wish to send the image. Tap the ‘+’ sign in the bottom left corner and select Document.

WhatsApp attachment menu highlighting the Document option

Locate the image you saved as a file, select it, and tap on Open.

Files app with an arrow next to an imane and the Open button

On the preview screen, add a caption if you want, and then tap the Send button in the bottom right.

WhatsApp document preview screen highlighting the Send arrow

The image will appear as a document in the chat.

WhatsApp chatbox highlighting an image sent as a document

Share Images as Documents on WhatsApp for Android

Open a WhatsApp chat. Tap the paperclip icon and select Document from the menu.

WhatsApp's attachment menu highlighting the Document option

Choose “Browse other docs…” at the top.

WhatsApp document selection screen highlighting the Browse other docs option

On the following menu, choose Images under Recent.

WhatsApp document selector with an arrow to the images option

Press and hold on an image to select it (single or multiple), and tap on “Select” in the top right corner.

My Files app highlighting one selected file and the Select button

Finally, hit Send in the dialog box that appears. The steps to send HD images on WhatsApp could vary depending on your phone’s manufacturer, but they should remain similar to the ones mentioned here.

Compress and Share Multiple High-Quality Images on WhatsApp

If you want to share multiple HD images, consider compressing them into a single file, which can then go as a document in WhatsApp chat. This type of compression doesn’t reduce the overall quality of the pictures. Instead, it combines them into one shareable ZIP file for your convenience. The receiver can extract each image in its original size.

Use the Files App to Compress Images

In the Photos app, choose all the images and save them to the Files app by creating a folder. Open the folder and select the images.

Files app with multiple selected images

Hit the three-dot button at the bottom right.

Files app highlighting the three dots menu

Choose Compress.

Files app with an arrow next to the Compress option

Open a WhatsApp chat, tap the ‘+’ sign, and select Document. Search for the compressed file, select it, and tap on Open at the top right.

Files app with an arrow highlighting the required folder and the Open button

Hit the Send arrow at the bottom right. Ask the receiver to decompress the file to access all the images individually.

WhatsApp chatbox with an arrow next to a folder of compressed images

Compress Images on Android to Send on WhatsApp

Open the files manager on your Android phone.

Android home screen folder highlighting the My Files app

Go to the Images section.

Images section in the My Files app

Select the photos you want to compress.

Multiple pictures selected in the Images section in My Files app

Tap Move at the bottom left of the screen.

My Files app with arrow next to the Move button

Go back to the files manager home page and select Internal Storage.

My Files app highlighting the Internal Storage option

Hit the three-dot at the top right and choose “Create folder.”

My Files app highlighting the Create Folder

Name the folder and hit Create.

The option to create folder in My Files app

Open the folder and select “Move here.”

Move here option in the Files app

Select all the images, and tap the Compress button in More.

My Files app with an arrow next to the Compress option

Name the file and select its format from the available options: Zip or 7-Zip. Hit Compress.

Creation of a ZIP file in the My Files app with arrows next to required steps

Head to a WhatsApp chat and open the Document selection menu. Tap on “Browse other docs…”, choose the three-line menu at the top left, and open the phone’s internal storage by taping on its name.

Option to select the phone's internal storage in WhatsApp's document sharing menu

Look for the folder you created for saving the images and open it.

My Files app with an arrow highlighting a particular folder

Select the compressed file.

Compressed file in the My Files app on Android phone

Hit the Send arrow at the bottom right.

Use Cloud Storage Platforms to Share Large Albums

If you have too many photographs to share but don’t want to hog the receiver’s memory, uploading them to a cloud storage platform and sharing access makes more sense.

Here’s how to Send Images Using iCloud

Open iCloud.com on your iPhone and sign in to your Apple ID.

Browser's screen highlighting the option to sign in to iCloud

Open the Photos section.

iCloud's website highlighting the Photos section

Hit Upload at the bottom of the screen.

iCloud Photos section highlighting the Upload option

Select Photo Library.

iCloud Photos section highlighting the Photo Library option

Choose the pictures you wish to upload, and hit Add.

iCloud images upload screen highlighting the Add button

Choose the Select button at the top right, and mark the photos you uploaded.

iCloud images upload section highlighting the Select button

Tap Share at the bottom left.

iCloud website highlighting the option to share uploaded images

Select “Copy Link.”

Option to Copy Link to selected images on iCloud

Copy the link on the dialogue box that appears on the screen manually by selecting it.

Highlighting the link to share uploaded iCloud images

Paste the link on WhatsApp. The receiver should be able to access all the images and download them.

Arrow next to the Send button in WhatsApp for iPhone

Send HD Images Using Google Drive

Open Google Drive on your phone.

Android home screen folder highlighting the Drive icon

Hit the plus icon.

Google Drive with an arrow next to the plus icon

Under “Create new,” select Folder.

Google Drive with an arrow next to the Folder option

Name the folder and hit Create.

The field to enter a folder's name in Google Drive

Open the Folder and tap the plus icon again, but this time, hit Upload.

The option to upload images in Google Drive

Choose the images and hit Select at the top.

The option to select images to upload on Google Drive

Tap the three dots at the top right corner.

Folder in Google Drive with the three dots menu

Select Share.

Google Drive folder highlighting the Share button

Under “Who has access,” tap on “Not shared.”

Who has access option in Google Drive

Tap Change.

Google Drive folder settings highlighting the Link Settings option

Select Restricted.

Restricted option in the Link Settings of Google Drive folder

Hit “Anyone with the link.”

Google Drive highlighting the anyone with the link option in Link Settings

Copy the link by tapping the button at the top right.

Option to copy link to a Google Drive folder

Open a WhatsApp chat and paste the link there.

WhatsApp chatbox highlighting the send arrow

The receiver can open the link and download the image in its original quality

If this guide has helped you, and you wish to learn more about file compression, here’s a guide on the best file compression format.

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