Low res images sent in iMessage are zoomed in

I send a 128x128 image via iMessage on my iPhone. I expect it to be quite small in the messages window, but it is zoomed in and pixelated for the recipient. It is actually already this large and pixelated before I have even sent it. The annoying thing is that it was working as I expected a few weeks ago. I can’t recall exactly but it might have changed after an update (16.4.1a). I copied the same image into the notes app and its small is expected there.