Meta-owned WhatsApp on Thursday has rolled out an update that allows users to send HD (high definition) quality photos with low compression on the platform.

WhatsApp Will Now Let Users Send HD Quality Photos

For those unaware, the popular instant messaging platform started testing this feature in February this year before rolling it out to beta testers on the Android and iOS platforms in June (via WABetaInfo).

“Sharing photos on WhatsApp just got an upgrade – now you can send in HD,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday on his Facebook post and Instagram broadcast channel.

Previously, users only had the option to send SD (standard definition) quality photos in chats. This means that the messaging app automatically compressed and reduced the image’s resolution, thereby making it smaller and using less data to send it.

With the rollout of the new feature, users can choose to upgrade their photos to HD on a photo-by-photo basis and send the image in a better resolution from Android, iOS, or the web.

“HD photos are clearer. Standard photos use less storage space and are faster to send,” a message in the app reads.

After the messaging app is updated to the latest version, this feature will appear as an “HD” button next to the editing tools when adding an image to a message thread. A pop-up menu will appear, from which you can choose either standard quality or HD quality.

However, please note that Standard Quality is selected by default to ensure sharing photos remains fast and reliable. To send high-resolution images on WhatsApp, you will need to switch to HD using the button at the top of the app.

The recipient will see an HD logo on the lower left corner of the image preview, which will signify that the image has been sent in HD quality. However, if the recipient has low bandwidth connectivity, they can receive the standard quality photo or upgrade it to HD.

Like the messages, HD photos will also be protected with end-to-end encryption.

The new HD photos feature has started rolling out for all WhatsApp users globally on Android and iOS devices and for the web client and should become available to all in the coming days. The company also confirmed that it plans to feature HD videos on the platform.