WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion active users. As you send and receive messages, media, and documents, the app takes up more and more space on your phone’s storage. If you find your phone low on space, emptying WhatsApp storage can help free up room.
Why does WhatsApp take up so much space?
There are a few key reasons why WhatsApp can take up a large amount of storage space:
- Media attachments – Photos, videos, GIFs, voice messages and other files you send and receive take up storage space.
- Message history – Keeping old chats and messages on your phone eats up storage over time.
- Cached media – Even after you delete messages, cached media files can still take up space.
- Backups – Backing up your WhatsApp history to Google Drive also uses storage.
If you use WhatsApp frequently and are in many group chats, your phone has to work hard to store all of this data. This can really add up over weeks and months of WhatsApp use.
How can I see how much space WhatsApp is using?
To check how much total storage WhatsApp is using:
- Open WhatsApp
- Tap the More options (three dots) icon
- Select Settings > Storage and data > Storage usage
This will show you a breakdown of storage usage for:
- Media
- Chat backups
- Unuploaded files
- Profile photos
- Databases
- Logs
You’ll see colorful bars representing how much space each category is taking up. This lets you identify what types of files are hogging the most storage on your phone.
How to free up space in WhatsApp
Here are 5 key ways to free up storage space from WhatsApp:
1. Delete old chats
Chatting with someone for a long time builds up message history. To clear out old chats:
- Open the chat you want to delete
- Tap More options > Clear chat history
- Confirm clearing the messages
This will permanently delete the chat history and free up space.
2. Delete large files
Big files like photos, videos and documents take up the most space in WhatsApp. To remove them:
- Open the chat with the media you want to delete
- Tap and hold the file to select it
- Tap the trash can icon to delete
Make sure to only delete media that you no longer need to free up a lot of space.
3. Clear cached media
Even when you delete files in chat, cached media leftovers can still take up space. To remove them:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Storage and Data > Storage Usage
- Tap Clear All to delete cached media
This will wipe cached media for all chats, freeing up space.
4. Delete message backups
WhatsApp may automatically back up your chat history to Google Drive. To delete backup files:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat backup
- Tap Delete all backups
This will remove all stored backup data from Google Drive storage.
5. Turn off auto-download
Stop media from automatically downloading when you receive it:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Storage and Data
- Toggle off Media Auto-Download for when using cellular data and WiFi
This prevents large files from being saved before you even view them.
More tips for managing WhatsApp storage
In addition to the steps above, here are some other ways to help reduce WhatsApp storage usage:
- Frequently remove old chats and media you no longer need
- Save photos/videos to your phone’s storage rather than leaving them in WhatsApp
- Use a file manager app to find and delete large hidden WhatsApp files
- Export chat history to PDF to preserve it outside WhatsApp
- Resize photos before sending to make them smaller
- Avoid forwarding large video files, memes and GIFs
- Set chat wallpaper to solid color instead of image
- Limit groups you join that share a lot of media
Taking the time to actively manage your chats, media and backups makes a big difference in keeping WhatsApp storage needs down.
Third party apps to reduce WhatsApp storage
Beyond using WhatsApp’s built-in tools, third party apps can also help you save space:
WA Trimmer
This handy app lets you trim and optimize your WhatsApp storage easily. It can delete old chats, remove media, clear cache and uninstall WhatsApp cleanly. The intuitive interface makes it easy to free up a lot of space fast.
WAMR
With WAMR, you can recover and backup deleted WhatsApp messages if you change your mind later. It also has media compression tools to reduce photos and video size before sending them through WhatsApp.
PhoneClean
PhoneClean is an all-in-one storage cleaner and memory booster. It can remove junk WhatsApp files taking up space. And it has optimization tools to help speed up your phone too.
Third party apps provide more ways to efficiently manage WhatsApp storage needs.
Should I delete WhatsApp to free up space?
If WhatsApp is taking up a lot of space, you might be tempted to just delete the app entirely. However, this should only be done as a last resort.
Here are a few things to consider before deleting WhatsApp:
- You’ll lose all your current chats and message history.
- Your WhatsApp account will no longer be active.
- You won’t receive any new messages from your contacts.
- To use WhatsApp again, you’ll have to reinstall and set up your account.
- Your contacts may not realize you’re no longer on WhatsApp.
So unless you absolutely do not use WhatsApp anymore, try freeing up space with the tips in this article first before uninstalling the app. This will let you recover storage without losing your WhatsApp data and connectivity.
Conclusion
Running low on storage because of WhatsApp is a common frustration. But thankfully, freeing up all that space is straightforward when you use the right tools and techniques. Now you know how to view WhatsApp’s storage usage, delete unnecessary chats and media, turn off auto-downloads, clear cached files, remove backups and more.
Putting in the time to actively manage your WhatsApp storage will prevent wasted space and give you back more usable storage. So try some of these helpful cleaning tips to effortlessly recover gigabytes in just a few minutes. Keep your storageoptimized and enjoy WhatsApp without the space crunch.