Why compress before sending
WhatsApp and Telegram accept large files, but when you send a video as a “video” (not a document) WhatsApp shrinks it on your phone, and the result is often blurry. A file that is already compact and in a phone-friendly format is sent as is.
What this preset does
- Scales the video down to 720p (never up).
- Uses H.264 + AAC in MP4 — the format every phone plays.
- Picks a bitrate that looks good at 720p without wasting space.
Also useful
- Status: WhatsApp status videos are short — split long videos into parts of the right length (Advanced settings → Trim, split & name → Split into parts → By length).
- Privacy: untick “Keep capture date and location” to remove GPS data before sending a video to people you don’t know.
WhatsApp video limits
- As a video (media): WhatsApp re-compresses it to save data. Even with the “HD” option, the result is noticeably softer than the original, and long videos are trimmed or rejected.
- As a document: up to 2 GB, sent as is with no quality loss — but the recipient has to download it before watching, and it doesn’t appear in their gallery automatically.
- Status updates: limited to short clips (about 60 seconds) and compressed heavily.
The trick is to send WhatsApp a video that is already the size and format it wants. Then its own compression has almost nothing to do and the quality you see is the quality they get.
What this preset produces
- 720p (or the original if smaller), 30 fps
- H.264 + AAC in MP4 — plays on every iPhone and Android phone, including old ones
- A bitrate WhatsApp accepts without recompressing hard
- HDR iPhone video converted to normal colors, so it doesn’t look washed out on Android
Telegram, Signal, iMessage and Messenger
Telegram accepts files up to 2 GB (4 GB with Premium) but also compresses videos sent as media. Signal compresses aggressively above about 100 MB. iMessage sends up to around 100 MB, but over SMS/MMS to Android a video must be under 1 MB — use the “MMS” preset for that. Facebook Messenger allows 25 MB. This preset works well for all of them.
Questions
Does WhatsApp reduce video quality?
Yes, videos sent as media are re-compressed by the app. Sending an already-compact 720p MP4 avoids most of that loss.
Can I remove location data from a video?
Yes. Untick “Keep capture date and location” and the GPS position and date are removed from the file.
Why does my WhatsApp video look blurry?
WhatsApp re-compresses big videos. Compress it here to 720p first, or send it as a document for the original quality.
What is the WhatsApp video size limit?
Videos sent as media are compressed by the app; as a document you can send up to 2 GB.
Last updated: 2026-10-30