WhatsApp has a limit on video lengths that can be sent through the app. Specifically, WhatsApp only allows videos up to 16MB in size and under 30 seconds in length to be sent as attachments through its service.
What is the video time limit for WhatsApp?
WhatsApp has a 30 second time limit for videos sent through the app. Any video longer than 30 seconds will be automatically compressed or downsized by WhatsApp before sending. The app does this to ensure videos do not exceed the 16MB file size limit.
Can you send videos longer than 30 seconds on WhatsApp?
No, WhatsApp does not allow users to send video files longer than 30 seconds through its service. If you try to send a video over 30 seconds, WhatsApp will automatically compress or downsample the video to under 30 seconds before sending it. This is done to adhere to the 16MB file size limit on WhatsApp.
So if you try to send a long video, like a movie clip or TV show excerpt over 30 seconds, WhatsApp will shorten it or reduce the quality so that the file size is small enough to send.
What happens if you try to send a long video on WhatsApp?
If you try to send a video that is over 30 seconds long, a few things could happen:
- WhatsApp may compress the video by reducing the resolution and bitrate to lower the file size under 16MB.
- WhatsApp may cut off the video at 30 seconds and only send the first half of the video.
- You may get an error message that the video file is too long to be sent.
In any case, the recipient will not get the full long video over 30 seconds that you originally tried to send. WhatsApp will modify or truncate the video before sending to meet the 30 second time limit.
Is there a way around the 30 second limit?
Unfortunately there is no way around WhatsApp’s 30 second video limit within the app itself. Some workarounds include:
- Split long videos into segments under 30 seconds and send multiple clips.
- Upload the video to a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox and share the link on WhatsApp.
- Use a third party app to compress videos before sending to meet WhatsApp’s limits.
- Physically transfer the long video file to the recipient using a different method like email, cloud storage, AirDrop, etc.
But there is no way to directly send a video longer than 30 seconds through WhatsApp’s service due to the file size restrictions.
Does WhatsApp reduce video quality?
Yes, WhatsApp will reduce the video quality and resolution if needed to get the file size under 16MB. This typically happens when you try to send videos longer than 30 seconds.
To lower the file size, WhatsApp will:
- Compress the video by encoding it at a lower bitrate.
- Downsample the video resolution to 360p or lower.
- Reduce the frame rate of the video.
- Transcode the video to use less complex compression standards.
As a result, longer videos over 30 seconds sent on WhatsApp will look grainy, pixelated, and lower in quality compared to the original. This reduction in quality allows the video file to fit within WhatsApp’s size limits.
Does WhatsApp cut off videos at exactly 30 seconds?
WhatsApp does not precisely cut off videos at 30 seconds. Instead, when you send a video longer than 30 seconds, WhatsApp will attempt to compress or downsample the video to meet the file size limit. This results in videos shorter than 30 seconds, but the truncation is not exact.
So a 45 second video may be compressed by WhatsApp down to 28 seconds. Or a 1 minute video may be reduced to 20 seconds. The end result will be under 30 seconds but not precisely clipped at 30 seconds.
WhatsApp’s goal is to get the video file under 16MB rather than exactly limit it to 30 seconds. So the truncation can vary depending on the original video size and quality.
Can you tell if WhatsApp has reduced video quality?
Yes, in most cases you can tell if WhatsApp has lowered the video quality or shortened the length of your original video file. Here are some signs to check for:
- Reduced resolution and grainy or pixelated image.
- Video length is shorter than your original file.
- Lower frame rate and choppy playback.
- Poor audio quality, echoes, or loss of synchronization.
- Weird artifacts, distortions, and color banding.
- Higher compression and smaller file size than original.
You can compare the WhatsApp version to the original video source to confirm the decline in quality. If you notice flaws like this, it means WhatsApp manipulated the video to meet size restrictions.
Conclusion
Due to WhatsApp’s 16MB file size limit, the app does not allow sending videos longer than 30 seconds. Attempting to send a video over 30 seconds will result in WhatsApp automatically compressing, downsampling, or truncating the video before sending. There is no way to avoid this limitation when sending videos directly through WhatsApp. The only options are splitting longer videos or sharing them through other means.