WhatsApp is testing a new compression algorithm that will try to maintain text legibility in images

Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp is testing new ways of image compression to improve the quality of images received by recipients.

Tech2 News Staff|Sep 16, 2017, 10:19:50 IST

Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp is testing new ways of image compression to improve the quality of images received by recipients. According to a report by WABetaInfo, the company is testing ways to compress images with text in a different way.[caption id="attachment_3959357" align="alignleft" width="380"]

WhatsApp app icon. Reuters[/caption]Sometimes, when the images are compressed, the text over the images are difficult to read, so, WhatsApp is planning to fix the problem by scanning an image before sending to find out whether the image contains any legible text. If the image contains text, WhatsApp will use a different compression method to provide a better image to the recipient.Images containing text will not be as compressed and will thus be of a higher quality.According to the report, WhatsApp is testing the feature in its version 2.17.339 of its Android beta app on the Google Play Store. The feature currently disabled by default. It is also expected to be available soon on the iOS platform.The instant messaging app WhatsApp, according to the report, recently started rolling out the 'Multi Media Server' service for iOS, Android and Windows phone users. This service allows users to simultaneously download gifs, documents and videos at the same time.The feature was available on the app before, but now the server is hosted on Facebook server. This new protocol change will allow Facebook to manage the downloads of these files via their server.

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