I use iMessage and WhatsApp with my contacts, but if everyone has iMessage, then we use that so pictures and videos are sent in full quality. But the iMessage groups are usually 4 to 6 people at most.
For the bigger groups, or groups with older people, we use WhatsApp since there might be an Android user or less risk of having to exclude someone because they switched to Android.
Pictures and videos are sent in full quality if they are sent over WiFi. If not, the images and videos could be compressed depending on what your cellular carrier requires.
That is news to me. I had peace of mind thinking that iMessage sends in full quality. At least it should make it known that it was not sent as the original.
Edit: it seems like the way to ensure sharing photos/video at original quality in iOS/macOS is to select the media in photos app, and then share, and then select “copy iCloud link”.
AFAIK, anything shared via iCloud is not original quality
> When shared, photos are reduced to 2048 pixels on the long edge, except panoramic photos, which can be up to 5400 pixels wide. You can share GIFs that are 100MB or smaller.
