diff --git a/whatsapp_bridge/server.js b/whatsapp_bridge/server.js
index f2997d8..b4f23e1 100644
--- a/whatsapp_bridge/server.js
+++ b/whatsapp_bridge/server.js
@@ -726,8 +726,14 @@ app.post('/api/send-media', async (req, res) => {
   if (!phone || !base64 || !mimetype) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'phone, base64, and mimetype are required' });
   
   try {
+    // Sanitize the base64 string (strip data url prefixes if present)
+    let cleanBase64 = base64.trim();
+    if (cleanBase64.includes(';base64,')) {
+      cleanBase64 = cleanBase64.split(';base64,')[1];
+    }
+
     const { MessageMedia } = require('whatsapp-web.js');
-    const media = new MessageMedia(mimetype, base64, filename || 'file');
+    const media = new MessageMedia(mimetype, cleanBase64, filename || 'file');
     const chatId = phone.includes('@') ? phone : `${phone}@c.us`;
     const sentMsg = await waClient.sendMessage(chatId, media, { caption: caption || '' });
     res.status(200).json({ success: true, messageId: sentMsg.id.id });
@@ -737,6 +743,7 @@ app.post('/api/send-media', async (req, res) => {
   }
 });
 
+
 // ─── HTTP Health Endpoint ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 app.get('/health', (req, res) => {
   res.status(200).json({