WhatsApp, Meta’s messaging giant, is giving its users greater control over data consumption and storage with a new feature.
The feature provides users with the option of selecting the quality of media automatically downloaded, with the choice to download either “standard” or “HD” quality.
Available now to some beta testers on WhatsApp Beta for Android version 2.25.18.11, the feature lets users choose whether to save incoming photos and videos in “standard quality” or “HD quality.”
The setting is located under the app’s Storage and Data settings.
As per reports, this update solves one of the most frequent grievances against the app: the overload of high-resolution media in group conversations, which fills up both data plans and phone storage.
Behind the scenes, the app now employs a dual-upload process when users transmit HD media. A file’s standard and HD versions are uploaded (no server-side compression because of end-to-end encryption).
The receiving app then downloads the one that suits the recipient’s preset preferences—clever, huh?
If you’d rather download media at standard quality by default but would like to see the HD version later on, you can manually ask the server for it (provided it hasn’t expired).
This feature is especially useful for those with small data plans or unstable connections, while still enabling high-resolution fanatics to preserve their images sharp.
WhatsApp aims to roll this out to everyone in the weeks to come—so there’s a wait in store. Meanwhile, beta testers are already seeing smarter downloads.
