Mashable: In recent months, WhatsApp has been on a roll, continually updating the app with new features for its users. Well, to stay competitive, you need to keep up, right? As WABetaInfo has recently reported, the service seems to be testing a new feature that would allow users to send images at their original quality.

Prior to this update, WhatsApp automatically reduced the file size of any attached photos. WhatsApp automatically compresses images before they can be shared, reducing quality and distorting details. Although you could send an image in full size through the document feature, that would not allow you to preview the images directly in the WhatsApp media gallery.

WhatsApp's newest beta adds the ability to send high-resolution images with only a tap on the "settings" button in the app's drawing tool's header. When a user taps the button, they can choose the quality of the photo they want to send. They can also choose to share the photo in its original quality.

You may sign up for the beta version on either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store if you're interested in giving this a try. You can also sideload it on Android from a trusted app repository like APKMirror. Moreover, it is unclear whether or not this functionality will ever be included in the stable release. This could make it take a while before you can use this feature on your smartphone.

Over the past few months, WhatsApp has released a number of new features, including the option to forward media with a caption, end-to-end encryption status chat indicators for calls and chat, the capability to block people from the notification bar itself, update voice notes on statuses, transfer chat history without Google Drive and support for proxy servers so users can access WhatsApp in blocked countries.