Mark Zuckerberg has announced that WhatsApp, the messaging platform, has introduced an update enabling both iPhone and Android users to send photos in high resolution.

This addresses the longstanding issue of the service’s previous limitation in sharing images of low quality.

“Sharing photos on WhatsApp just got an upgrade — now you can send in HD,” the Meta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) announced via his official Facebook page.

In the past, whenever users of WhatsApp sent photos, the platform automatically compressed the images, reducing their resolution to 920 x 1280. This compression aimed to save storage space and facilitate swift image-sharing, particularly over connections with limited bandwidth.

“With the recent update, users now have the choice to dispatch images to their contacts in “HD quality,” boasting a resolution of 3024 x 4032. The app’s version 23.16.0 introduces an “HD” button positioned at the top of the photo-sharing interface, adjacent to other image editing tools.”

Pressing this button summons a pop-up menu that permits users to switch from the default Standard Quality to the enhanced HD Quality.

Upon receipt, recipients of HD photos will notice a label denoting their high-definition status in the corner of the image.

These high-resolution images are all safeguarded by WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption protocol.

Meta has clarified that users experiencing low-bandwidth internet connections will continue to receive photos in Standard Quality.

They will have the option to keep the standard version or upgrade it to HD if an HD version is available.

This new feature is slated to roll out globally over the upcoming weeks. Additionally, Meta has announced that the capability to transmit high-resolution videos via WhatsApp will soon follow suit.