What you need to know
- WhatsApp is trying out an increased file transfer limit of 2GB with some beta testers.
- The current file size limit for WhatsApp is 100MB, which is relatively small compared to some competing platforms.
- As smartphone cameras improve, the file sizes of photos and videos generally trend upward.
WhatsApp is testing out an increased file size limit for select beta testers. According to WABetainfo, a small handful of WhatsApp Beta users are able to send files up to 2GB in size. The increased limit appears to be restricted to certain testers in Argentina, but it could be a sign of things to come for WhatsApp.
WhatsApp's current file size limit is 100MB. That cap is generally enough for any photo or short video but may not meet the demands of certain people. As smartphone cameras improve, the size of videos and photos increases, at least generally speaking. Videos that are around a minute long can easily be over 100MB with certain camera settings.
In addition to the limit restricting which content can be sent through WhatsApp, the cap is lower than that of some of the best WhatsApp alternatives. For example, Telegram supports files up to 2GB.
While WhatsApp trails behind some social media platforms, it is far ahead of Discord, which limits messages to 8MB unless users have Nitro, which allows for larger file transfers.
At the moment, only some users in Argentina have the option to send larger files through WhatsApp. The new option may roll out to a wider set of users in the future.
