Why You Shouldn't Send Important Photos and Videos by WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is an easy way to share photographs and videos with family and friends. However, if you have had your old family memories digitised, there is an important difference between sharing them on WhatsApp and sharing the actual digital files.

When you send a photograph or video as normal media in a WhatsApp message, WhatsApp compresses it. This reduces the file size and makes it quicker to send, but it also reduces the quality.

You may not notice much difference when looking at the photo or video on your phone, but the lower-quality copy can become a problem if you want to do something more with it later.

What Happens to Photos?

When you send a photograph as a normal photo in WhatsApp, the image is compressed before it reaches the recipient.

On a phone screen, it may still look perfectly good. But the WhatsApp version contains less information than the original digitised file. This matters if the recipient wants to print the photograph, enlarge it or use it in another project.

For example, an old family photograph may look fine on a phone but produce a noticeably less sharp print if the only copy available is the compressed WhatsApp version.

What If You Want to Print the Photo?

The difference in quality may not become apparent until someone wants to print the photograph. A compressed WhatsApp image may be perfectly adequate for viewing on a phone, but printing requires more information from the image, particularly if the photograph is being enlarged.

Fine details may be less clear, and the image may not produce the same quality of print as the full-quality digitised file. This is especially worth considering with old family photographs. If you have taken the trouble to have an important photograph digitised, it makes sense to keep the best-quality version available for future use.

What If You Want to Edit the Photo?

Editing can also be more difficult when you are working with a compressed copy. You might want to crop the photograph, adjust the brightness, improve the colour, remove a mark or carry out some restoration work.

The more information that remains in the digital file, the more you have to work with. Starting with a compressed WhatsApp copy can therefore limit what you can achieve and affect the final result.

The same applies if you want to use the photograph in a photobook, slideshow or another project.

Videos Are Compressed Too

The same principle applies to family videos.

When a video is sent as normal WhatsApp media, it is compressed. This reduces the file size, but also reduces the quality of the video.

Again, the difference may not be particularly noticeable when watching it on a phone. But if you want to watch it on a larger screen, edit it, create a new video from it or keep it as a long-term copy, the full-quality digitised version is preferable.

So How Should You Share Them?

If you want a family member to have their own copy of a photograph or video, it is better to give them the actual file or provide a link from which they can download it.

If your files are stored in the cloud, you can simply send the download link through WhatsApp. The recipient can then download the file without you having to send the photograph or video as normal WhatsApp media.

You can also copy files to a USB memory stick or another storage device and give them to family members

What About Sending the File as an Attachment?

There is an important distinction here.

This article is about sending a photograph or video as normal media within a WhatsApp message. That is where the compression takes place.

WhatsApp also allows files to be sent as documents or file attachments. This is different from sending them as normal photos or videos and is an option when you want to send the actual file rather than the compressed media version.

Keep Your Full-Quality Digitised Files

Whatever method you use to share your family memories, keep your own copy of the full-quality digitised files.

You may want to print a photograph in the future, edit it, create a photobook, make a slideshow or share it with another family member. Having the full-quality file gives you the most flexibility.

WhatsApp is great for quickly showing family photos and videos to other people. But if you want someone to have a copy they can print, edit, keep or use in another project, share the actual file or a download link rather than sending it as normal WhatsApp media