The iMessage file size limit, and how to send a video that's too big

There's no official iMessage file size limit: Apple doesn't publish one for photos, videos or documents. What Apple does document is how attachments travel, encrypted and uploaded to iCloud for the other device to fetch, and that once a message turns green, your carrier's much smaller limits apply. So the real limit depends on the colour of the bubble and how you send the file.

Is there an iMessage file size limit? The short answer

Apple publishes no iMessage attachment size limit. Its page comparing iMessage, RCS and SMS/MMS says iMessage can send “high resolution photos and videos, documents” and more, without giving a size (Apple). Apple's Platform Security guide explains the mechanics instead: an attachment is encrypted with a random 256-bit key and uploaded to iCloud, and the key and a link go to the recipient inside the end-to-end encrypted message (Apple).

So the confident figures online, such as 100 MB or tables by iPhone model, have no Apple source behind them, and the Messages app has no published file size limit for PDFs and other documents either. The limits you'll actually run into come from the bubble colour, your carrier, free storage on both phones and the connection. Other apps' numbers are in our table of file size limits by app.

Blue, green or RCS: which limit applies to your message

Between Apple devices, Messages uses iMessage, in blue. When iMessage isn't in use it can send RCS, and failing that SMS/MMS, both in green (Apple). A message also goes green when the other person doesn't have an Apple device, or iMessage is off or temporarily unavailable on either phone (Apple).

RCS has to work at both ends: Google says RCS chats work with other people who have them turned on (Google). On iPhone you need iOS 18 and a carrier that supports RCS, then turn it on in Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging (Apple). Without it, a message to an Android phone goes as MMS.

Why big videos get shrunk or won't send

There's no published iMessage video file size limit, but Apple does document the shrinking. Over SMS or MMS, “your carrier may set size limits for attachments”, and “your iPhone can compress photo and video attachments when necessary” (Apple). Carriers squeeze files too: Verizon says a file sent to a device with a lower limit is reduced to a size that device accepts (Verizon). A minute of 4K video doesn't survive being cut down to a few megabytes.

Apple doesn't say what triggers a “too long” message or give a maximum length. Its own video-editing guide does open with “Have a video that's too long to send through Mail or Messages?” and points to trimming (Apple), but people asking about the message on Apple's community forum haven't had an official answer (Apple Community). Whatever triggers it, the fixes are the same:

• Trim it. In Photos, open the video, tap Edit, move the sliders at either end of the timeline, then tap Done and Save Video as New Clip to keep the original too (Apple).
• Check the low-quality setting. Apple's troubleshooting page says turning on Send Photo Previews or Low Quality Image Mode (Settings > Apps > Messages) sends lower-quality images. If your photos always arrive soft, check it's off.
• Free up space. Apple's first check when photos and videos won't send or arrive is free storage on the device.
• Send the original another way: AirDrop, an iCloud link or a direct browser transfer, all below. Our guide to sending large video files goes further into keeping full quality.

iPhone to iPhone or Mac: try AirDrop first

If the other person has an iPhone, iPad or Mac and is in the same room, use AirDrop. It's built in, Apple's guide gives no file size limit, and no carrier limit applies. You both need Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and Personal Hotspot off, and you need to be nearby (Apple). When both devices run iOS 26.2 or later, sharing with someone who isn't in your contacts uses an AirDrop code.

If AirDrop can't see them, our AirDrop not working checklist goes through the usual causes. If they're far away but on an Apple device, a blue-bubble iMessage still beats a green one.

Sending a big video from iPhone to Android or a PC

Once the other device isn't an Apple one, iMessage is out and texting means carrier limits. When a video is too big to send from your iPhone by text, pick by situation:

• They're online now: send it browser to browser. Beamaroo works on Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook with no app or account. The video is never uploaded or stored, and you get a receipt when it's verified on their device. Steps are below.
• They'll watch it later: share an iCloud link. Anyone with the link can view the photos and videos, and Apple says the links expire after 30 days (Apple). It shares from your iCloud Photos library, so the video sits on Apple's servers, and iCloud Links aren't available in every country or region.
• By email: the Mail app on iPhone offers Mail Drop when a message is too big, sending attachments up to 5 GB that the recipient has 30 days to download (Apple).
• You both use WhatsApp or Telegram: WhatsApp takes documents up to 2 GB, though videos sent the usual way default to a 100 MB limit (WhatsApp), and Telegram takes files up to 2 GB (Telegram).

Sending to a Windows PC? Our iPhone to PC file transfer guide also covers the cable and iCloud routes.

Send the full-quality file from your iPhone in a browser

This route works for any receiving device: Android, Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook. Both devices need to be online at the same time. It works in reverse too; our Android to iPhone file transfer guide covers that direction.

1. On the iPhone, open beamaroo.com in Safari, tap the drop area and pick the video. A video picked from Photo Library may be re-encoded before the page gets it; to send the file exactly as it is, use Choose Files and pick it from the Files app. You can pick several files at once.
2. Tap Get a code. You'll see a code like beam-7-otter-quartz, a QR code and a Copy link button.
3. On the other device, open beamaroo.com, choose Receive and type the code. A phone can scan the QR code instead, or you can text them the link, which fills the code in.
4. They tap Receive, see how many files are coming and the total size, and tap Accept. Nothing moves before that.
5. Keep your iPhone's screen on until it finishes. Once their device has checked the file, you get a receipt saying it's verified on their device.

Two honest limits. A phone receiving is comfortable to a few hundred MB, because the browser holds the file in memory until it's saved; a computer manages about 1–2 GB (how Beamaroo works). And iPhone browsers can convert a video picked from Photo Library into a new copy before any website sees it (WebKit's code); developers report that a file picked from the Files app goes up as it is (Apple Developer Forums).