Some 60 billion messages are sent over the WhatsApp chat platform every day. One of the reasons for the service's massive popularity is that it lets users send and receive as many media-rich messages as they want, which – as long as they've limited WhatsApp's use of their cellular data plan – costs them next to nothing.
That's great news for senders, but one of the drawbacks of receiving multiple images and video clips from your WhatsApp contacts is that they're automatically saved to your iPhone's Photo Library. Apart from being an unwelcome sight in your personal Camera Roll, they can start to take up valuable storage space. Fortunately, you can easily prevent this default behavior by following the steps below.
Once you've turned off the above setting in WhatsApp, you can still manually opt to save individual media files that you receive in a chat thread. If your iPhone supports 3D Touch, simply hard press on the photo or video clip in question and swipe up to reveal the Save option. Alternatively, you can access the Save option by tapping the photo or clip and selecting the Share icon in the lower left of the screen.
If receiving images or video over WhatsApp is sapping your cellular data when you're out and about, you can prevent them from downloading to your iPhone until you're safely back in range of a Wi-Fi connection.
To do so, return to WhatsApp's Settings tab and select Data and Storage Usage.
The options under Media Auto-Download let you dictate which types of media can be downloaded and under what circumstances. Make sure that the media types you're happy to wait for are set to Wi-Fi.
Tag: WhatsApp
Monday December 5, 2022 11:44 am PST by Juli Clover
Due to production issues at Apple supplier factories in China, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are backordered and basically out of stock at every store. If you were planning to gift or receive an iPhone 14 Pro model for the holidays and didn't already get one, you're basically out of luck because they're gone until late December. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Saturday December 3, 2022 10:23 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models feature a LiDAR Scanner next to the rear camera that can be used to measure a person's height instantly in Apple's preinstalled Measure app.
To measure a person's height, simply open the Measure app, point your iPhone at the person you want to measure, and make sure they are visible on the screen from...
Thursday December 1, 2022 8:44 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to publicly release iOS 16.2 for the iPhone in mid-December, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update remains in beta testing for now, with at least eight new features and changes already uncovered so far. iOS 16.2 introduces a number of new features, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications, the ability to hide...
Friday December 2, 2022 2:03 am PST by Hartley Charlton
The next-generation MacBook Pro models could feature faster RAM, according to a recent report from a reliable source.
MacRumors Forums member "Amethyst," who accurately revealed details about the Mac Studio and Studio Display before those products were announced, recently provided information about Apple's upcoming 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
The new machines are expected to feature...
Friday December 2, 2022 2:13 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple in late October began testing iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates, providing betas to both developers and public beta testers. As of now, we've had four total betas, with the fourth beta having been released earlier this week. iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 are expected before the end of the year, and we thought we'd try to narrow down the launch timeline. With only four betas released since...
Sunday December 4, 2022 7:38 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Mass shipments of Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset may be delayed until the second half of 2023 due to unspecified "software-related issues," according to the latest information shared today by tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple headset render by Ian Zelbo Kuo said mass shipments of components for the headset are still likely to begin in the first half of 2023, but he believes that mass.
..
Saturday December 3, 2022 10:55 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While we're still around nine months away from Apple unveiling the iPhone 15 lineup, rumors already suggest that the higher-end Pro models will have even more exclusive features than usual compared to the standard models next year. There are currently at least five features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with an A17 Bionic...
Monday December 5, 2022 12:38 am PST by Tim Hardwick
UK-based tech company Nothing plans to launch a smartphone in the US to directly compete with Apple's iPhone, according to a new report out today. In an interview with CNBC, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the startup is in "early conversations" with American cellular carriers about launching a new phone in the US, but he stopped short of naming any of the carriers or the phone model.
Nothing...
Tuesday December 6, 2022 7:09 am PST by Sami Fathi
Apple today announced Apple Music Sing, a new feature in Apple Music that lets users sing their favorite songs with adjustable vocals and more. Apple Music Sing will utilize Apple Music's real-time lyrics to allow users to sing to their favorite songs using adjustable vocals, background vocals, and duet view to allow more than one singer.Apple Music Sing includes: Adjustable vocals: Users...
Home » How To » How To Stop WhatsApp From Saving Photos Automatically To Gallery Or Camera Roll On Android And iPhone
by Akshay Thapliyal
As an Amazon Associate and affiliate of other programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
WhatsApp has currently more than 1 billion users, where people send messages, share photos, videos, locations, and other files with their contacts.
As people receive long the WhatsApp app from the Play Store, followts of photos from their contacts, they look for ways to stop WhatsApp from saving pictures to the gallery. As there could be private or other personal photos that you do not want others to see when you hand over your phone to someone.
One way is to stop WhatsApp from Auto downloading photos and videos but still when a user views it on WhatsApp, it will appear in the Gallery. So to avoid that you can even hide WhatsApp images from Gallery or Camera Roll in Android and iPhone.
Contents
This will stop all the images from showing on the Camera Roll of your iPhone.
You can also watch this video:
After updating the WhatsApp app from the Play Store, follow the steps below.
You can change either default settings that will be applied to all your WhatsApp chats or you can set individual settings on per chat basis.
From now, the received media from all the Chats will stay in WhatsApp only and won’t show in your phone’s Gallery. The photos and videos received earlier when the setting was enabled will still be there and will only be applied to newly downloaded media.
It is also possible to configure the setting on a chat-to-chat basis.
The option you set above becomes the default one for all the chats. But there are always exceptions. You might want to show media from certain contacts in your Gallery or vice versa. You can do that as well. Here’s how.
Similarly, you can do so for other contacts as well.
We receive all sorts of photos and videos on WhatsApp that don’t deserve to be on our phone’s Gallery to be seen by everyone. To take care of this, you can go ahead and use the Media Visibility feature.
You can also check our video:
As mentioned earlier WhatsApp also allows you to prevent from saving the images/videos automatically. If you are not aware of this setting then here we have shared the steps to stop WhatsApp from auto-downloading photos, videos, and other file types on Android and iPhone.
The type of media that you want to automatically download is up to you. You can adjust the settings according to your preference.
Similarly, you can prevent auto-saving when connected to Wi-Fi and when you are on roaming as well.
Also Read: How to Take WhatsApp Backup Using Mobile Data Instead Of WiFi
You can do the same for other file types.
With this, the next time you receive a photo or video it won’t download until you tap on it to initialize the download.
If you happen to use WhatsApp for calling a lot then you can lower data usage on that too. Follow the steps here.
And if your WhatsApp notifications stopped working, read our instructions about how to fix it.
WhatsApp photos are showing in the gallery because your WhatsApp settings are set in such a way. to disable it, go to Settings > Storage and Data > Media auto-download and disable it.
I hope the above methods helped Android and iPhone users to stop WhatsApp from saving pictures to Gallery or Camera Roll or disable auto-downloading of media. If you have a similar issue with the backup, read our post about how to stop WhatsApp backup.
If you want to know more tips and tricks for WhatsApp, check out this post. And if you are concerned about privacy such as who can see your Last Seen status, this article can help you.
If you have faced any issues while following the above steps, do let us know via comments.
Akshay Thapliyal
Akshay Thapliyal is the Co-founder of TechUntold and mainly looks into the strategic planning at TechUntold. He also loves writing articles on apps & problems he faces related to tech. Follow him on Twitter.
Messenger WhatsApp takes up a lot of space on your smartphone. Almost all photos and other multimedia files are automatically downloaded to your device without your knowledge.
Blocking automatic saving of photos and videos in WhatsApp will save the gadget's memory, as well as reduce its power consumption, battery consumption and data transfer volume. How to turn off automatic saving of whatsapp media files in phone memory here0005 .
If you don't want WhatsApp media files to be automatically saved to your Android phone library, follow these few simple steps.
Open WhatsApp on your smartphone and click on the three dots in the top right corner of the screen. Go to Settings (Settings), then select Data and storage usage (Data and storage usage). On the screen that appears, under Media Auto-Download, select each of the three options: When using mobile data (When using mobile data), When connected via Wi-Fi (When connected on Wi-Fi), When roaming (When roaming), and in the new menu, select files to download automatically.
To not save any file, clear all checkboxes.
Of course, if you want some files to be saved automatically, such as working documents, check the box on the corresponding documents.
Do the same if you want to automatically save WhatsApp photos and videos to your phone again.
For owners of smartphones or tablets with the iOS operating system, the procedure is similar to the previous one. You will need to open WhatsApp app , go to Settings (Settings) > Data and storage usage (Data and Storage Usage) and then in section Automatic media download (Media Auto-Download) go to each category (photos, audio, video, documents) and select Never (Never) or choose only Wi-Fi , no cellular connection (Cellular)
On iPhone and Android, you can still save the received files at any time by clicking on the photo or video you are interested in.
On Android
To have more control and therefore prevent media files from being saved automatically, whether they come from individual chats or groups, you can disable media visibility on your android phone. For private chats, this setting can be enabled or disabled by selecting Settings (Settings) > Chat (Chat) > Media Visibility (Media Visibility). For groups, go to Settings (Settings) > Show Contact (Show Contact) (or Group Information (Group Info)) > Media Visibility (Media Visibility). Answer No (No) to question Do you want to show newly downloaded media from this chat in your phone's gallery.
On iPhone
On iPhone, you can also stop saving photos in group or private chats. To do this, you need to open a chat (group or personal) and click on Group or contact information (Group or Contact Info).
Then press section Save to Library (Save to Camera Roll) and select option Never (Never).
Image: Dimitri Karastelev - Unsplash.com
By default, the WhatsApp photo sharing process automatically saves media files to the recipient's device memory when they are opened in the messenger application. This approach is largely justified, but it can cause certain inconveniences and is often evaluated negatively by users. In the article, we will consider all aspects of using the function of uploading photos coming via WhatsApp to the device storage on Android and the possibility of configuring its operation.
With the default settings, when you open an image in WhatsApp for Android, it is automatically saved to your device storage and then displayed in your smartphone or tablet's Gallery. Further in the article, we will first consider setting a ban on the implementation of these two possibilities, and in the final third part of the material we will demonstrate how to clear the device’s memory from media files already downloaded from WhatsApp.
So, the first thing you can do if the function of the messenger that involves downloading images has become inconvenient (for example, increased consumption of traffic by the device or too fast filling of free space in its memory), is to deactivate the option to automatically download media files. It is possible to establish a ban on its implementation in two ways.
The most radical approach to solving the problem of stopping uncontrolled saving of media files from WhatsApp to the memory of an Android device involves revoking the permission granted to the messenger to access the storage. The instruction below is suitable only for those users who do not plan to use the information exchange system in question for transmitting and receiving files, regardless of their type.
Please note that depending on the version of the mobile OS and the system shell launcher used, the names of options and menu items may differ from those described and captured in the screenshots below, but the general principle is the same in all versions of Android!
Next, open the settings category called Applications.
WhatsApp developers for Android have provided in this version of the service client application the possibility of quite flexible adjustment of various parameters, including those related to the function in question. This allows us to solve our problem more “elegantly” and “correctly” than the method proposed above in the article.
WhatsApp will automatically download images using your cellular connection to give you quick access to your latest photos.
To set up auto-upload of photos, videos and audio files, just go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Chats and calls > Media auto-download .
You can choose when WhatsApp automatically downloads media files.
Selected media files will automatically download when you connect to a cellular network.
The selected media files will automatically download when connected to a Wi-Fi network.
If your goal is not to save space in the memory of your Android smartphone / tablet or the traffic consumed by the device, but to organize photos in the built-in OS tool for viewing and organizing them - "Gallery" , then you can use one of the following methods.
Please note that when using the first two instructions from the article presented later in this section, not only pictures will be hidden in the Gallery, but also videos received via the messenger, as well as GIF animation!
First, you can disable the display in the Gallery of not absolutely all the pictures that you have viewed in WhatsApp, but only those that were received within a single conversation or group chat.
To deactivate saving in the Gallery of absolutely all media files received from WhatsApp:
Another method by which you can prevent the display of photos from WhatsApp in the Gallery is available for implementation using many "Explorers" for Android (hereinafter referred to as ES File Explorer).
to follow the path: WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images/.
Among other methods, you can hide pictures received via WhatsApp from the Gallery using the tools integrated into the media viewer application itself.
Select the "Make invisible" option, which will make the catalog no longer visible in the Gallery, but will not cease to exist.
Step 1. Open WhatsApp.
Step 2. Go to Settings.
Step 3. Expand the Data and Storage menu.
Step 4. Pay attention to the "Storage management" item.
Modern instant messengers are almost the main source of wasted memory in the storage of every mobile device. Using the above menu of the WhatsApp application, you can assess the "scale of the tragedy" and carry out the necessary cleaning.
⚠️ If the instruction stopped working or you have problems at some step, please report it in the comments. We will definitely investigate the issue and update the article.
Source
The methods described above in this article, which involve disabling automatic saving of pictures from WhatsApp and / or their visibility in the Android Gallery, are effective in relation to those media files that will be received after performing one or more other procedure.
To get rid of “old” images, for example, to free up the space they occupy in the device’s storage, either the tools provided in the messenger or manual deletion are used.
In order to delete photos received via WhatsApp for Android, you don't even need to leave the application, and clearing media files from your smartphone's storage is quite flexible here.
Chat settings
Application settings
Next, click "DELETE OBJECTS" at the bottom of the screen on the right. Confirm the request received from WhatsApp by tapping "DELETE MESSAGES" in the window that appears.
Of course, if there are many dialogs and groups open in WhatsApp, and a large number of images have accumulated in the device’s memory in the process of receiving information from them, cleaning using the above method can take a long time. It is more convenient and in order to destroy all the photos downloaded by the messenger at a time, use any file manager.
