Filipinos rejoiced over the much-awaited update of Facebook Messenger that allows users to send and receive high-definition (HD) photos from each other instead of resorting to other apps to transfer images.
Meta on Tuesday announced that users of its instant messaging app can now send and receive “clearer, crisper photos in high definition,” as well as create shared albums of photos and videos with their friends.
To send an HD photo, users only have to select an image from their chat composer, turn the HD toggle “on” and then tap “send.”
To send multiple images in HD, they only need to tap on additional photos, turn the HD toggle “on” and then click “send.”
The feature delighted Filipinos, who are among the heaviest social media users in the world.
The majority use Messenger to stay updated with their loved ones and relatives through chats and video calls.
“Yes, uninstall ko na Telegram ko, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA,” a Facebook user commented in response to the development.
“Finally,” another Pinoy wrote.
“Pwede na nating i-uninstall ang Telegram,” commented another user, tagging a Facebook friend.
“Ayan, kahit ‘di na Viber, hahaha,” a different user wrote, also tagging a friend.
A Filipino Facebook page also quipped that users no longer have to go to other apps like Instagram, Google Drive or Telegram to send and receive high-quality photos.
The page also showed a screenshot of the new feature, which reminds users that “HD photos use more storage and can take longer to send.”
It has been the practice of some users to resort to other apps to send or receive images, especially important ones, instead of Messenger since the quality of the pictures get affected.
Images can get blurry, pixelated, or have their resolution reduced when it is sent to another user.
This has prompted some users to switch to other apps that do not reduce photo quality in conversations such as Viber and Telegram.
In 2017, Meta enabled Messenger users to send and receive photos in 4K resolution or up to 4,096 x 4,096 pixels per image, which it said was the highest quality many smartphones supported at that time.
Meanwhile, apart from the HD photos, other features that the instant messaging app has rolled out include shared albums, adding people on the app via QR codes and sending files up to 100 MB from their phones.