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How to delete all media from whatsapp group


Want to delete pics, videos etc from a WhatsApp chat and keep only texts? Here’s how

Home How To Want to delete pics, videos etc from a WhatsApp chat and keep only texts? Here’s how

WhatsApp saves all the photos, videos and GIFs from every chat when it backs up your chats. It’s unnecessary clutter and you really don’t need all that there, you can delete them from the chat itself and keep just the texts.

Since WhatsApp is literally the most popular messaging app out there, pretty much everyone is on it. While it's great for convenience, this also means that you will be bombarded with forwarded photos and videos you really do not want. 

Fortunately, for annoying chats like these, both individual and group chats, WhatsApp has introduced a forever mute option so as you are not annoyed by the alerts and can choose to check the messages if and when you want to.

There is also the option of turning down auto-downloads of media on your account so nothing, not even stickers, will be downloaded on your device unless you manually do it.

Also Read: WhatsApp to get join missed calls, biometric lock, new calls feature soon

In all this, there also might be some texts that you actually need and might want to keep so deleting entire texts is not an option. On WhatsApp you can choose to delete the media (photos, videos, GIFs etc) while keeping the messages only.

On both Android and iOS,

- Go to Settings, click on Data and Storage Usage, then click on Storage Usage.

- Select the contact or the group whose media you want to delete.

- Click on Manage and then tick all the boxes you want deleted - like photos or videos or GIFs, or all of them. Leave out the text messages box.

- Click on Clear and then confirm.

Alternately, you can see that you have the option to just keep the media and delete the texts. Pick what you need.

Going forward, you can adjust settings for particular group chats/contacts to prevent media from getting downloaded automatically.

On iOS, go to Chat, select the contact or the group chat you want to stop these auto-downloads for. Click on the contact or subject on top of the display, then go to Save to Camera Roll and change Default/Always to Never.

Also Read: WhatsApp now lets you mute chats forever

For Android, go to the contact or group chat, click on the top bar, select media visibility, change the settings here from default to a no or a yes, as you want. Click on okay to confirm your selection.

Across iOS, you can stop media from being saved to your camera roll by going to Settings, clicking on Chats and toggling off ‘Save to Camera Roll' from Default/Always to Never.

On Android you can do it by going to Settings, then Chats, then toggling off Show Media in Gallery or Media Visibility.

Special tip

There's another tried and tested way around this where you can take a look at what has been sent and then decide if you want to save that photo or video or not. This works only if you use WhatsApp Web chat.

On WhatsApp web, you can check out the media sent on the web first and then decide if you want to download it and save it on your smartphone. Downloading media on the web does not automatically save it on your smartphone.

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First Published Date: 27 Oct, 19:55 IST

Tags: whatsapp

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Delete All Media for a Specific WhatsApp Chat or Group

It seems everyone’s WhatsApp nowadays is suffocating under the weight of a long list of chats and groups. However it’s not just your WhatsApp that has to deal with the side-effects occasioned by all these conversations.

Your phone is also taking a hit storage-wise with all the hundreds of photos, gifs and videos that are constantly being shared each day.

Fortunately for us, WhatsApp does actually provide us with means to curtail the accumulation of such media on our smartphones without having to take matters into our own hands. This involves either deleting or clearing chats. There however seems to be confusion between what these two do.

The difference is this:

  • Clearing a chat – will delete all the messages, group conversations and any media in that chat but it will NOT remove that chat from your list of chats or exit you from a group.
  • Deleting a chat – will delete all the messages, group conversations and the media but that chat will no longer be available in your chat list. For groups, you’ll be required to exit them before you can delete them.

In both options, you’re given the choice to delete the media as well. As such we can use either of these methods to delete all the media for a specific chat.

However if you need to remain in a group you should only use the clear chat option. With individual chats you can use either since you can start a new conversation any time as long as that person is in your contact list.

Let’s take a look on how to use either of these methods to delete all the media in WhatsApp for Android.

1. Deleting All WhatsApp Media by Clearing Chats

1. On the WhatsApp chat list page, open the individual chat or group whose media you want to delete.

2. Once inside the chat, press your menu button or tap on the three vertical dots on the top right of the screen to reveal the menu.

3. From here, go to More then tap on the Clear chat option.

Clear Chat

4. You’ll get a prompt asking you to confirm the clearing. Just below this message leave the “Delete media from my phone” option checked then tap on the CLEAR button.

Delete Media from your Phone

Doing that will clear all the messages along with all the media of that particular chat. All media will also be deleted from your phone’s storage.

2. Deleting All WhatsApp Media by Deleting Chats

Individual Chats

1. On the WhatsApp chat list page, long press on the chat you want to delete then tap on the delete icon at the top.

Delete Chat

2. You’ll get a prompt asking you to confirm the deletion. Below it leave the option “Delete media from my phone” checked then tap on the DELETE button.

Confirm Deletion
Group Chats

As mentioned earlier, to delete a group will require you to exit that group first.

1. On the WhatsApp chat list page, long press the group whose media you want to delete then tap on the three vertical dots to reveal the menu. Tap on the Exit group option.

Leaving the Group

2. You’ll then get a confirmation prompt. Tap on the EXIT button to leave the group.

Tap on Exit

3. Doing that will display a message that you’ve left from that group. Long press on the chat again then at the top tap on the delete icon.

Delete Group Chat

4. You’ll get a prompt asking you to confirm the deletion. Below it leave the option “Delete media from my phone” checked then tap on the DELETE button.

Confirm Group Chat Deletion

FAQS

Is the Deletion Permanent?

This does NOT delete the media permanently. The media is only deleted for you (and in your phone) and therefore will still be available to the contacts you were chatting with or other members if it was a group.

Still, it’s not possible to redownload old messages or the deleted media even if you just cleared the chats.

I Want to Delete All the WhatsApp Media But Keep the Conversations

It’s possible to delete all the media for specific chats and keep their messages or group conversations. You also don’t have to exit a group to delete their media. To do this we however we don’t use the clear or delete options.

Instead you have to go to the settings and manage the storage use for specific chats. This brings me to the other possibility:

I Want to Delete Only a Specific Media Type

You may also want to delete a specific media type of a particular individual or group chat instead of having to delete everything.

Perhaps you want to delete the videos but keep your images and animated gifs. Or perhaps you want to delete everything save for documents or audio messages. Likewise, this is possible by deleting the media through the Data and storage usage settings as I’ve outlined here.

How to remove all photos from a WhatsApp group on Android and iPhone

WhatsApp recently introduced a group privacy feature where you can change who can add you to groups. Thanks to this, you will not receive unnecessary messages, especially good morning pictures. WhatsApp groups are home to unwanted media files that take up space on our phones. Here you will learn how to remove all media files from a WhatsApp group.

Contents

1. Delete all WhatsApp media using storage management.

Delete WhatsApp Photos from Storage Management on Android

Delete WhatsApp Photos from Storage Management on iPhone

2. Delete all WhatsApp media using Clear Group Chat.

Delete all group photos from chat on Android

Delete all group photos from chat on iPhone

3. Delete WhatsApp Media by selecting photos

Deleted selected photos in WhatsApp group on Android

Deleted selected photos in WhatsApp group on iPhone

4. Remove photos from all WhatsApp groups (Android only)

How to stop automatic download of WhatsApp images on Android and iPhone

Stop auto download images on Android

Stop auto download images on iPhone

Bonus: how to remove photos from whatsapp group for all

Keep calm and clean on WhatsApp



You don't have to manually remove each picture from a WhatsApp group. WhatsApp provides enough options to bulk delete media files. You can also prevent automatic downloads of media files on your phone. This will save you the hassle of cleaning up your WhatsApp media on a regular basis.

Let's check four ways to remove all pictures from WhatsApp groups on Android and iPhone. You will also learn how to stop automatic image uploads. nine0003

1. Delete all WhatsApp media using storage management.

WhatsApp offers a special option to view the memory used by each chat. Chat can be individual or group. Here's how to use this option to remove useless media from a group.

Delete WhatsApp Photos from Manage Storage on Android

Here are the steps:

Note: Deleting media files using this method will also remove them from your phone's gallery. nine0003

Step 1 : Open WhatsApp on your phone and tap on the three-dot icon at the top. Select Settings.





Step 2 : Go to Data and storage usage.



Step 3: Click Storage Usage. Let WhatsApp calculate storage usage for each chat.



Step 4: Find the group whose media you want to delete. You can even use the search at the top to find a specific chat. Then click on the name of the group. nine0003

Step 5 : Whatsapp will show you the storage information for the group. Click "Free Up Space" at the bottom.



Step 6 : By default, WhatsApp will select all categories that are taking up memory. Uncheck the categories you don't want to remove. That is, leave only the photos selected. If you want to delete videos, GIFs, or audio messages, select those too.



Step 7: Click on the Delete Items option presented at the bottom. A confirmation message will appear. Click Clear Messages. nine0003



Delete WhatsApp Photos from Storage Management on iPhone

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap Settings at the bottom.



Step 2: Click "Data and Storage Usage" and then "Storage Usage" on the next screen.





Step 3: Find the group whose photos you want to delete in bulk. Click on it.



Step 4: Scroll down in this group's storage and click Manage.



Step 5: Select the items you want to delete, such as photos, videos, and GIFs. Click "Clear" at the bottom. Confirm your decision in the pop-up window.



Note: Deleting photos using this method will not remove them from the film roll if you have saved them. It will only be removed from WhatsApp.

2. Delete all WhatsApp media using Clear Group Chat. nine0043

The above method allows you to select the elements you want to remove from the group. If you're comfortable clearing an entire group chat, this will remove all media from that particular group. This will be cleared from the group including images, videos, GIFs, voice memos and more.

Note: The group will not be deleted using the Clear Chat feature and you will be removed from the group.

Remove all group photos from chat on Android

Step 1: Open the group chat whose media you want to delete.

Step 2: Click the three dots icon at the top and select "More" from the menu.





Step 3: Select Clear Chat. A confirmation message will appear. Check the box next to 'Delete media in this chat'. Then click the "Clear" button.





Delete all group photos from chat on iPhone

Step 1: Open a group chat. Click on the group name at the top.

Step 2: Scroll down the group information screen. Click Clear Chat. Click "Delete all messages" in the confirmation window.





3. Delete WhatsApp Media by selecting photos

If you want to delete a few selected photos from a group only, you can also do that.

Deleted selected photos in WhatsApp group on Android

Step 1 : open the group and click on the group name at the top.



Step 2: Click Media on the group information screen. Alternatively, you can click on the three-dot icon in a group and select "Group Media".



Step 3: Press and hold (press and hold) one of the photos you want to delete. Once it's selected, select all the photos you want to delete. Then click the delete icon at the top. nine0003



Deleted selected photos in WhatsApp group on iPhone

Step 1 : Start a group chat and tap the group name.



Step 2 : Click Media, Link, and Documents.



Step 3 : Click Select at the top. Then click on the photos you want to delete. The selected photos will be marked with a blue check mark.

Tip: Select one photo and hold your finger on the photo and slide your finger over the photos you want to select. nine0003

Step 4: Click on the delete icon at the bottom to remove them from the group.



4. Remove photos from all WhatsApp groups (Android only)

If you are interested in removing all media files from WhatsApp, you should follow this method. It will remove media files from all chats (both individual and group) available on your WhatsApp. For this method, you will need a file manager.

To do this, proceed as follows:

Step 1 : Open file explorer or file explorer on Android phone. You can download a third party file manager like Solid File Explorer or use the built in one.

Step 2: Go to the WhatsApp folder. It will be present in the internal memory.



Step 3: Click Media and then WhatsApp Pictures.





Step 4: Select all the images and then delete them. nine0003

You can use this method to delete videos, GIFs, and documents.

Note: This method will remove images from all WhatsApp chats, including groups and individual threads.

How to stop WhatsApp images from automatically downloading on Android and iPhone

Here's how to do it.

Stop automatic image downloads on Android

Step 1: Launch WhatsApp and click on the three dots icon. Select Settings. nine0003



Step 2: Navigate to Date and storage usage.



Step 3 : You will get three different options for automatic media download: mobile data, Wi-Fi and roaming. If you don't want to download anything automatically, uncheck the boxes in the appropriate category.





Stop automatic download of images on iPhone

Step 1: Launch WhatsApp and go to Settings. nine0003

Step 2: Click Data and Storage Usage.



Step 3 : Change the automatic media download settings for photos, audio, videos, and documents. To stop automatic downloads, leave it disabled.



Bonus: how to remove photos from WhatsApp group for everyone

All of the above methods only removed photos from your phone and not from other members of the group. If you want to delete photos for everyone, you will have to use WhatsApp's unsend feature - delete for everyone. nine0003

You must use this function within one hour after sending the image to the group. This will not work for media older than an hour. Once deleted, it will be removed from WhatsApp of each member of the group. They will see the text "This message has been deleted" instead of the media file. Only the person who shared the media file can delete it. Neither the group administrator nor other members of the group can delete a media file for others.

To use this feature on Android, press and hold on a photo in a group chat. Then click the delete icon and select "Delete for everyone". nine0003



On iPhone, press and hold a photo, then select More and then Delete.





Then click the delete icon in the lower left corner. Select Delete for everyone.





Keep your WhatsApp clean and calm

It's a good idea to clear your WhatsApp media regularly, especially if you're a member of many WhatsApp groups. We also suggest disabling the auto-download feature for images and videos as shown above. By doing this, you get the option to select the photos or videos you want to upload. nine0003

Next: Did you accidentally delete an image from WhatsApp? Here is a great guide to help you learn how to recover deleted pictures from WhatsApp.

How to delete a photo in WhatsApp