With WhatsApp being one of the most used messaging platforms, it can easily consume a significant amount of your phone’s Storage with shared media files. Combined with your device’s gallery storing additional photos and videos, it’s no surprise that storage issues arise. Here’s a step-by-step guide to freeing up space efficiently.

Step 1: Access WhatsApp Settings

  1. Open WhatsApp and click on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: Navigate to Storage and Data

  1. In the Settings menu, tap on Storage and Data.
  2. Select Manage Storage to get an overview of storage usage by chats.

Step 3: Review and Manage WhatsApp Storage

  1. Inside Manage Storage, WhatsApp shows chats and their corresponding storage usage.
  2. Sort files by size (e.g., most significant, oldest, newest) to identify large or unnecessary files.
  3. Tap on a chat to view and delete media files.

Step 4: Delete Unwanted Media

  1. Select a specific chat or group and review the media shared.
  2. Tap on the media file and hit the trash icon to delete it.
  3. To delete multiple files, tap and hold, select multiple items, and delete them simultaneously.

Step 5: Disable Automatic Media Download

  1. In Storage and Data, go to the Media Auto-Download section.
  2. Disable auto-download options for photos, videos, and audio files under mobile data, Wi-Fi, and roaming.

Step 6: Hide WhatsApp Media from the Gallery

  1. In the Chats section of WhatsApp settings, toggle off Media Visibility.
    • This prevents newly downloaded media from appearing in your phone’s gallery.

 

Step 7: Clean Up Your Phone’s Gallery

  1. Open your gallery app and sort files by size or date.
  2. Identify large, duplicate, or unwanted files and delete them.
  3. Use apps like Google Photos to back up essential media files before deletion.

Step 8: Leverage Cloud Backup

  1. Enable cloud backups like Google Drive or iCloud for WhatsApp and gallery media.
  2. Once your data is backed up, delete local copies of older files to save space.

Step 9: Use Third-Party Tools

If storage issues persist, consider third-party apps like:

  • Files by Google: Automatically detects large files and duplicates for deletion.
  • Cleaner for WhatsApp: A tool designed specifically to clean WhatsApp media.

Conclusion

Regularly managing your WhatsApp storage and cleaning up your gallery can free up valuable space on your device. Adopting these habits ensures better phone performance and prevents storage-related frustrations.