The best video settings for WhatsApp
What WhatsApp does to your video, and how to give it less to ruin.
WhatsApp re-encodes everything
Whatever you send is compressed again on its way out. That is why a clip that has been forwarded five times looks like it was filmed through a window. You cannot switch this off, but you can hand it a file that is already close to its target, so its own pass has little left to remove.
Aim for MP4, H.264 and about 16 MB
MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is what WhatsApp expects, so it needs the least conversion work. Keep the file under about 16 MB and the resolution at 720p or below — WhatsApp will scale it down anyway, so spending bits on 1080p is spending them twice.
Send as a document to keep quality
Attaching the video as a document skips WhatsApp's re-encode entirely, so the recipient gets exactly the file you sent. The trade-off is that it does not preview inline and they have to open it deliberately.