WhatsApp is reportedly testing a feature where it will allow users to share media files up to 2GB in size, according to Wabetainfo. According to Wabeta, the new feature is compatible with WhatsApp beta for Android (2.22.8.5, 2.22.8.6 and 2.22.8.7) as well as WhatsApp beta for iOS (22.7.0.76), but will only work for Argentinian users.
All other users will have to continue to contend with the 100MB file size limit that the platform currently enforces. Screenshots obtained by Wabetainfo show that the file size restriction has changed from the current 100MB to 2GB for a WhatsApp user who is using the app on an iOS device. However, it is still unclear whether the company plans to roll out this feature to other regions, outside of its Beta program.
It would make sense that WhatsApp will try and increase the limit of the file share. Rival Telegram allows users to share files which have up to 1.5GB in size without worrying about compression or anything else. But given WhatsApp’s record, it will take some time to roll out this feature, given there are always several new features in testing.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp has rolled out its “Linked Device” feature that allows users to access WhatsApp on up to five different devices simultaneously. The connection stays even if the primary mobile device on which WhatsApp is installed is not connected to the internet. Until then, it was only possible to use WhatsApp Web or the WhatsApp app on a desktop OS if the phone with WhatsApp installed was continuously connected to the internet while WhatsApp was being used on a browser or on an app. This ‘Linked Device’ feature first appeared in Beta testing in September 2021, and it took over a year since then to be rolled out.
