WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to send messages, photos, videos, documents and more to individuals or groups. Over time, your WhatsApp chats can take up a lot of space on your phone. You may want to clear your chat history to free up storage space. But what if you don’t want to lose the photos and videos you’ve received in WhatsApp? Is there a way to delete your WhatsApp chats without losing media files?
Can you selectively delete WhatsApp chats?
Yes, WhatsApp allows you to selectively delete chats. Here are the steps:
- Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats tab.
- Tap and hold a chat you want to delete.
- This will select the chat and you’ll see a dustbin icon on top.
- Tap on the dustbin icon and confirm to delete the chat.
This will delete the entire chat including messages, but media files sent in the chat will still be saved in your phone’s gallery. So this allows you to free up space by removing chat history, while retaining any photos, videos, documents etc. that you want to keep.
Does deleting a chat remove media files from phone storage?
No, when you delete a WhatsApp chat, any media files sent in that chat are not deleted from your phone’s storage automatically. Here’s what happens to media when you delete chats:
- Photos and videos received in the chat will still be available in your phone’s gallery.
- Audio files will still be there in your music player or file manager.
- Documents will still be there in your file manager.
So you don’t have to worry about losing important media files when cleaning up your WhatsApp chats. The media is retained on your phone storage even if you delete the entire chat history.
How does WhatsApp save media files from chats?
WhatsApp has a built-in feature to automatically save media files from chats to your phone’s storage. Here is how it works:
- When you receive a photo or video in a chat, WhatsApp automatically saves it in a hidden folder called .Media in phone storage.
- For videos, an additional .Statuses folder is created to save video thumbnails.
- WhatsApp also automatically saves any audio files, documents or other media to phone storage when received.
- Your phone’s media scanner indexes these saved files, so they show up in your regular phone gallery and media players.
So even if you delete the WhatsApp chat, the actual media files remain safely stored in your phone’s storage for future access.
How to find and manage media files saved from WhatsApp chats
While WhatsApp automatically saves media files from chats, you may want to locate the actual files in your phone’s storage. Here are some tips:
- On Android phones, install a file manager app to access the WhatsApp media folders.
- On iPhone, you can access files using the Files app or connect phone to a computer to browse files.
- Navigate to the WhatsApp Media folder, this is usually in the phone’s internal storage or SD card root folder.
- Open the folders inside to access photos, videos, audio, documents etc. saved from various chats.
- You can copy, move or delete these files manually through your phone’s file manager.
Being able to access the hidden WhatsApp media folders directly gives you more control over managing the content saved from chats.
How much phone storage do WhatsApp media files use?
WhatsApp media files can occupy a considerable amount of storage space on your phone. Here are some average file sizes to give you an idea:
| Media Type | Average File Size |
|---|---|
| Photo | 1-5 MB |
| Video (1 minute) | 10-20 MB |
| Audio (3 minutes) | 5-10 MB |
| PDF Document | 0.5-5 MB |
As you can see, frequent sharing of photos, videos and other media in WhatsApp chats can quickly fill up phone storage. Deleting old chats periodically can help free up space.
Should you take backups before deleting WhatsApp chats?
It’s generally recommended to back up your WhatsApp data before deleting any chats. This ensures you have a secondary copy of the chat history and media files for recovery if needed. Here are some backup options:
- Enable built-in WhatsApp chat backup to Google Drive or iCloud.
- Use a third party app to take manual backups of WhatsApp data.
- Copy the WhatsApp Media folders to a computer for backup.
- Use a cloud storage service to upload photos/videos saved from WhatsApp.
Taking periodic backups gives you peace of mind when cleaning up old WhatsApp chats and media.
How to clear WhatsApp storage space on iPhone
Here are the steps to clear WhatsApp space on iPhone while retaining media files:
- Go to iPhone Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
- Check space used by WhatsApp under Apps.
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
- Tap on Storage Usage > Manage Storage.
- Review chats and select ones to delete.
- Tap Delete to confirm and remove chat history.
This will delete old WhatsApp chats while saving the media files on your iPhone storage. You can also offload unused apps in iPhone storage settings to free up more space.
How to clear WhatsApp storage on Android
To clear WhatsApp storage on Android and save media files, follow these steps:
- Open WhatsApp > Tap More options > Settings.
- Go to Data and Storage Usage.
- Tap on Storage Usage and review chats.
- Select chats you want to delete and tap on Delete.
- Confirm deleting the chat history.
Alternatively, you can go to your phone Settings > Storage > WhatsApp Storage to review and delete chats.
You can also clear other app caches and residual files through your phone’s storage settings to free up more space.
How to save important WhatsApp chats
While clearing your WhatsApp storage, you may want to save certain important chats. Here are some options:
- Star or pin the chats you want to retain – this prevents them from being deleted.
- Forward or copy-paste text from chats into notes or documents.
- Take screenshots of the chat screens that you need to save.
- Use WhatsApp export chat option to save entire chats.
- Backup chats to Google Drive, iCloud or third party apps.
Using these methods, you can save key information, conversations or transactions from WhatsApp chats even while deleting old chat history.
Conclusion
In summary:
- You can selectively delete WhatsApp chats to clear storage space.
- Media files like photos, videos, documents etc. are not deleted when you remove chats.
- WhatsApp automatically saves media files to your phone storage separately.
- You should backup chats before deleting in case you need to restore them.
- Manage your WhatsApp storage on iPhone or Android to delete old chats easily.
- Use available options to save important WhatsApp chats and media.
So go ahead and clear your WhatsApp chat history without worrying about losing your photos, videos and other media files! Just be sure to back up important conversations before removing chats.