Messaging platform WhatsApp could soon increase its file transfer limit by as much as 20x, the latest beta release suggests.
Until now, the WhatsApp file size limit has been set to a relatively miserly 100MB, drawing criticism from both users and rival messaging platforms.
However, the company is currently allowing some beta testers to send files of up to 2GB in size. The upgrade is confined to a small number of users in Argentina for now, but the test suggests WhatsApp is contemplating a service-wide change.
WhatsApp file transfers
There was once a time when a 100MB file size limit would have been considered generous, but as the quality of images and videos continues to increase, so does the amount of storage space they take up.
For context, a 45-second video shot on this writer’s OnePlus 9 Pro consumes roughly 115MB of space and therefore cannot currently be sent over WhatsApp in uncompressed form.
The last time WhatsApp raised its limit (from 16MB to 100MB), in 2019, the company attracted mockery on Twitter from rival service Telegram. However, if WhatsApp later extends the 2GB upgrade to its entire user base, the platform will overtake Telegram (1.5GB) and leave Messenger (25MB) and other services in the dust.
The move could be a boon for anyone that wants to share large, high-quality multimedia files with their friends and co-workers, or for creatives looking for an easy way to transfer a few files between computers.
The decision to raise the cap to 2GB could also put a squeeze on dedicated file transfer and cloud storage services, many of which operate under more stringent size limits. For example, WeTransfer’s free service has a 2GB limit, and Box only allows non-paying users to upload files 250MB in size.
Via WABetaInfo
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