WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows people to easily send messages, photos, videos and make voice and video calls for free. However, many users have noticed that videos often look bad when sent through WhatsApp, compared to other messaging platforms. Videos can appear blurry, pixelated or lower quality than the original. There are a few key technical reasons why this happens.
Why Videos Get Compressed on WhatsApp
The main reason videos look worse on WhatsApp is because of compression. When you send a video file through WhatsApp, it gets compressed significantly to reduce its file size. This is done to limit data usage and make transferring videos faster.
Here’s a more in-depth look at how WhatsApp compresses videos:
1. Resolution Reduction
WhatsApp automatically lowers the video resolution before sending it. This means a video gets reduced from its original quality to a lower resolution like 720p or even 480p in some cases. The lower the resolution, the fewer pixels make up each frame of the video. This results in a blurrier, less detailed image.
2. Bitrate Adjustment
WhatsApp also adjusts the video’s bitrate, which is the amount of data used per second to store and playback the video. WhatsApp aims to use a lower bitrate to make the video file smaller. However, a lower bitrate also negatively impacts video quality. It can result in artifacts, blurriness and color banding.
3. Frame Rate Limiting
The frame rate of a video or the number of frames captured per second is also lowered by WhatsApp before sending. For example, a 60fps video may be reduced to 30fps. This helps minimize file size but can make motions appear less smooth and natural.
4. Audio Compression
Along with video, the audio track also gets compressed. WhatsApp uses audio codecs like AAC and removes excess data to shrink the file size. However, audio compression can lead to loss of quality, especially in complex audio portions.
Comparing WhatsApp Video Quality to Other Apps
To understand just how significant WhatsApp’s compression is, let’s compare it to some other messaging apps.
WhatsApp vs Telegram
Telegram also compresses videos to optimize file size and transfer speeds. However, Telegram has an option to send videos without any compression. This results in videos retaining their original quality when sent. However, transfer times are much slower without compression.
WhatsApp lacks any option to disable compression. So images and videos will always be compressed by WhatsApp before sending.
WhatsApp vs Signal
Signal is another secure messaging app like WhatsApp. It also compresses media, but not to the same extent as WhatsApp in some cases.
For example, Signal can send uncompressed 720p videos that retain far better quality than WhatsApp’s compressed 720p videos. However, Signal may still compress higher resolution videos like 1080p down to 720p.
WhatsApp vs iMessage
iMessage compresses images and videos when sending, but uses more advanced compression algorithms. Videos are compressed in HEVC format which offers much better quality than WhatsApp’s compression.
So videos sent through iMessage retain more detail and look cleaner compared to WhatsApp under the same long distance sending conditions.
WhatsApp vs Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger also compresses images and videos during sending, but provides options to control quality. You can choose to send files at high, medium or low quality in Messenger.
WhatsApp offers no such controls, automatically compressing everything to relatively low quality before sending.
Maximum Video Size Limit on WhatsApp
In addition to heavy compression, WhatsApp also enforces a maximum file size limit for videos. Currently, any video you try to send through WhatsApp cannot exceed 16MB in file size.
If you try to send a video larger than 16MB, WhatsApp will automatically compress it further to bring it under this size limit. This can severely impact quality for longer or high resolution videos.
Other messaging apps have higher video size limits, allowing them to send videos with less compression:
| App | Maximum Video Size |
|---|---|
| 16MB | |
| Telegram | 2GB |
| Signal | 100MB |
| iMessage | 200MB |
| Facebook Messenger | 720MB |
As you can see, WhatsApp has by far the most restrictive limit at just 16MB. All other apps can send much larger videos with less compression required.
Tips to Send Better Quality Videos on WhatsApp
While WhatsApp will always compress your videos significantly, here are some tips to maximize quality as much as possible:
1. Use a Third-Party Service
You can upload videos to cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox and then share the link on WhatsApp instead of sending the video directly. This prevents WhatsApp compression entirely.
2. Lower Video Resolution Beforehand
Tools like Handbrake allow you to manually lower your video resolution before sending it through WhatsApp. This reduces compression and retains more quality compared to WhatsApp harshly lowering resolution.
3. Use Shorter Video Clips
Since WhatsApp limits videos to 16MB, shorter video clips will look better than long videos compressed under the cap. Try to keep videos under 30 seconds.
4. Avoid Sending 4K or High FPS Videos
WhatsApp cannot handle high resolution or high FPS videos well. Stick to 1080p resolution at 30fps or lower for the best results.
5. Send Videos During Off-Peak Hours
WhatsApp compresses videos more aggressively during peak usage hours when its servers are busiest. Try sending large videos late at night or early morning.
Why Can’t WhatsApp Improve Video Quality?
With so many complaints about video quality, why doesn’t WhatsApp do more to improve it? There are a few reasons:
Prioritizes Speed Over Quality
WhatsApp believes fast sending speeds and reliability are most important. Heavy compression, even at the cost of quality, allows videos to send almost instantly. For many users, this speed is preferable over slower transfers but higher quality.
Caters to Average Smartphone Hardware
WhatsApp has to optimize video quality for the vast majority of users who own average, affordable Android smartphones. Optimizing for high-end devices with fast connections would lose customers.
Serves Developing Markets
WhatsApp has many users in developing countries with limited cellular data and slower 2G/3G networks. Maximizing video quality isn’t feasible or preferable there compared to smaller files.
Increased Server Costs
Allowing uncompressed or high quality video sends would require WhatsApp to significantly expand its server infrastructure to handle the bandwidth. This cost may not provide enough value per user.
The Future of WhatsApp Video Quality
While WhatsApp is unlikely to improve video quality dramatically for all users, there are some signs of enhancements coming:
Gradual Improvements Over Time
WhatsApp does gradually tweak and improve its compression algorithms. So video quality today is better than a few years ago, even if only slightly. More gradual improvements are likely.
Higher Quality for Business Accounts
WhatsApp Business accounts can send videos up to 30MB rather than 16MB normally. Business accounts may see video quality upgrades before regular consumers.
Optional Reduced Compression
WhatsApp may eventually allow optionally disabling compression, like Telegram. Users could choose between maximum quality or fast sending. This would satisfy both preferences.
Conclusion
In summary, WhatsApp compresses and lowers video resolution, bitrate, frame rate and more to significantly reduce video file sizes before sending. This results in videos appearing blurry, pixelated and lower quality compared to the original files. WhatsApp prioritizes fast sending speeds and reliability over quality. While unlikely to change dramatically anytime soon, WhatsApp may improve video compression somewhat overtime. For now, users can minimize quality loss by following tips like lowering resolution beforehand, using third-party services to transfer videos, sending shorter clips and avoiding high resolution originals. While WhatsApp video quality has some drawbacks, for most users it remains good enough for quick everyday messaging.