Send large videos from Android
Any phone, any recipient. Share it as a link.
Launching soon
Free when it launches: 5 GB per transfer, 10 transfers or 20 GB a month, and links that last 14 days.
To send a large video from an Android phone, use Quick Share if the other device is in the room. Otherwise, upload it to Google Drive or other cloud storage and share the link. Whoever gets it, on Android, an iPhone or a computer, downloads the original video instead of a squeezed copy.
Why Android videos arrive blurry, or don't arrive
Most of the ways to send a video from Android shrink it or cap it somewhere along the way:
- Google Messages sends video one of two ways. Over MMS, Google says carriers compress MMS messages, which is why texted clips look smeared. Over RCS chat, you can pick HD ("optimized for chat": faster, less data) or HD+ (original quality). If either side can't use RCS, the chat falls back to MMS.
- Gmail stops attachments at 25 MB for a personal account, then swaps the video for a Google Drive link that uses your Google storage.
- WhatsApp takes files up to 2 GB when you send them as a document, but the person has to be on WhatsApp too.
Quick Share, Messages, Gmail or a link
| Way to send | Works well when | Falls short when |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Share | The other device is one of your nearby devices, in the same room | They're anywhere else |
| Google Messages in HD+ | You're both on RCS chat | Either of you drops to MMS, or it's a group with mixed phones |
| Gmail attachment | The video is under 25 MB | Almost any video longer than a short clip |
| A cloud storage link | Any phone, any distance | The video uses your storage until you delete it |
Quick Share (which used to be called Nearby Share) is the fastest when you're side by side. If the other phone isn't one of your contacts, they need to set Quick Share's visibility to Everyone for 10 minutes first. What you send lands in Files > Downloads > Quick Share on their phone.
Send a big video from Android, step by step
- Open the video in your gallery or Google Photos, tap Share, and send it to Google Drive or another cloud storage app. You can pick several videos at once.
- Keep the storage app on screen until the upload completes; Android can pause an app you've switched away from.
- In the storage app, set the video's sharing to anyone with the link.
- Share the link from there into Messages, WhatsApp, Gmail, Discord or anything else you have installed, or copy it to paste somewhere yourself.
If everyone in the chat is on RCS, there's a shortcut: send the video itself in Google Messages with HD+, which keeps original quality. SendTheStuff's own upload tool is launching soon for the chats where that isn't an option.
Sending from Android to an iPhone
This is where texting a video goes worst. Between Android and iPhone, messages go by RCS only when the iPhone has iOS 18 or later and both carriers support it. Otherwise they go by MMS and get compressed. Quick Share won't reach an iPhone across town either.
A link doesn't care what phone the other person has. They tap it, the storage service's page opens in Safari, and they download the video from there. Ask them to download it rather than play the preview, which can be a lower-resolution copy.
Keeping a long upload going on your phone
- Don't switch away for long. Android can pause an app that isn't on screen. If you need your phone for something else, come back to the storage app afterwards and check the upload is still moving.
- Check your free space first. Google's storage is shared across Drive, Photos, and Gmail. A phone that backs up its photos may have less room in Drive than you think.
- On mobile data, a long video uses a lot of it. Wi-Fi is kinder if you can wait.
When it doesn't work
- The video looked blurry when it arrived. The chat was using MMS. Send a link instead, or check that both of you have RCS chat on if you want to use HD+.
- You can't find the HD+ option. It's only offered in RCS chats. In an MMS chat, a link is the way to keep the quality.
- Quick Share can't see the other phone. It only works with nearby devices, and the receiver may need Everyone for 10 minutes turned on.
- They can't find what you sent by Quick Share. Tell them to look in Files > Downloads > Quick Share.
- The link asks them to sign in. The video is shared with specific people only. Change it to anyone with the link.
Frequently asked questions
How do I send large video files from Android to Android?
If the other phone is next to you, use Quick Share. If it isn't, send it in Google Messages with HD+ when you're both on RCS, or upload it to Google Drive and send the link. The other person downloads the full video from the link.
How do I send long videos on Android?
Long videos are too big for MMS and for email attachments, so send them as a link. Upload the video to cloud storage, keep the app open until it finishes, then share the link from the storage app.
How do I send a large video from Android to an iPhone?
Send a link. Texting it can drop to MMS and compress it, and Quick Share won't reach an iPhone that isn't nearby. The iPhone user taps the link and downloads the original video.
Why do videos look blurry when I send them from Android?
Because they went by MMS, and Google says carriers compress MMS messages. RCS chat with HD+ keeps the original quality, but only when both people have RCS. A link keeps it every time.
Does the recipient need an app or an account?
No app: the link opens in any web browser, even if the storage service suggests its app. An account only if you limited the link to specific people instead of anyone who has it.
How big a video can I send from Android?
It depends on the route. A Gmail attachment stops at 25 MB, and a WhatsApp document at 2 GB. Quick Share and cloud storage links skip those caps; for a cloud link, the practical limit is the free space in your storage.