Many WhatsApp users want their WhatsApp photos, videos, and other media to be visible in their phone’s gallery for easy access and management. However, WhatsApp media is usually only accessible within the app by default. Thankfully, there are a few quick and easy ways to make your WhatsApp media show up in your phone’s main gallery app.
Enable Visibility in WhatsApp Settings
The simplest way to make WhatsApp media visible in your gallery is by changing a setting within WhatsApp itself. Here’s how to do it:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the 3 dot menu icon in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings > Chats > Media visibility.
- Toggle the ‘Media visibility’ switch ON.
This will automatically enable all photos, videos and other media sent and received in WhatsApp chats to show up in your phone’s gallery. New media will appear in the gallery as it comes in, and old media will also become visible in the gallery retroactively.
Move WhatsApp Media Folder to Gallery
WhatsApp stores all your media in a folder on your phone’s internal storage. By default, this folder is hidden from your phone’s gallery. But you can easily make it visible by moving the WhatsApp media folder into your DCIM (camera roll) folder where all your phone’s photos and videos are stored. Here’s how:
- Install a file manager app on your phone if you don’t have one already.
- Open the file manager and go to the WhatsApp media folder location: Internal Storage > WhatsApp > Media.
- Long press the WhatsApp Media folder and select Cut.
- Go back to Internal Storage > DCIM and long press in an empty area. Select Paste.
This will move the WhatsApp media folder into your DCIM folder. Now all WhatsApp photos, videos, GIFs, etc will be visible in your phone’s gallery alongside your camera photos and videos.
Use a Third-Party App
If you don’t want to move or show all your WhatsApp media in the gallery, you can use a third-party app to selectively save media to your gallery:
- WD Gallery: This app lets you hide photos you want to keep private. You can choose which WhatsApp media to show in your gallery.
- Hide It Pro: This hides specific photos and videos from your gallery. You can hide private WhatsApp media and show only what you want.
- Photo Locker: This app password protects your private media. You can store private WhatsApp photos here and only show public ones in your gallery.
These apps give you more control over which WhatsApp media appears in your phone’s gallery. The pros are flexibility and privacy. The downsides are it takes more effort to set up and manage.
Transfer WhatsApp Media to Computer
You can also transfer WhatsApp photos, videos, etc from your phone to your computer. This will make them visible in your computer’s file explorer and gallery apps. Here’s how:
- Install the WhatsApp desktop app on computer if you don’t have it.
- Open WhatsApp on your computer and scan the QR code with your phone to link them.
- On your phone, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap Back Up to backup your WhatsApp media to Google Drive.
- On your computer, your WhatsApp media will now show up in WhatsApp > Media.
- You can now copy these files to your computer’s local storage to view them in your file explorer or gallery apps.
This allows you to access your WhatsApp media on a bigger screen. It also serves as a good backup of your WhatsApp data.
Using Third-Party Apps to Transfer Media
There are also third-party apps that help transfer WhatsApp media from phone to computer:
- dr.fone: This lets you directly transfer WhatsApp media, chats and other data from phone to computer via USB.
- MobileTrans: This app wirelessly transfers WhatsApp media and data from phone to PC over WiFi.
- ShareIt: This app lets you share WhatsApp media from your phone to computer on the same WiFi network.
These apps provide a quick and easy way to transfer WhatsApp media to your computer without backups. Some paid versions also allow transferring media from computer to phone.
Save WhatsApp Media to External SD Card
If your phone has an SD card slot, you can set WhatsApp to save media directly onto the external SD card. This will make your WhatsApp photos and videos visible in the gallery alongside other media on your SD card. Here’s how to set it up:
- Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Media Auto Download.
- Tap When Using Mobile Data and select ‘Never Auto Download’.
- This prevents auto downloading media and using your data allowance.
- Now go back and tap Storage Usage > Media Storage.
- Select your external SD card.
- New WhatsApp media will now be saved onto your SD card.
- You can also move old WhatsApp media to your SD card using your phone’s file manager.
Saving WhatsApp media on an SD card keeps your phone storage free. And you can view the files in your device’s gallery as long as the SD card is inserted. This method works for old and new media.
Use Google Photos to Back Up WhatsApp Media
Google Photos is the default cloud backup option on many Android phones. You can set it to automatically back up WhatsApp media as well. Here’s how:
- Open your phone’s Settings app and go to Google > Backup.
- Turn on Back up to Google Drive and make sure WhatsApp is included.
- Open Google Photos and turn on backup under Settings > Back up & sync.
- New WhatsApp photos/videos will now auto backup to Google Photos.
- You can also manually back up existing media to Google Photos.
Once your WhatsApp media is backed up, you can view and manage it on Google Photos on your phone or computer. This provides an offsite cloud backup as well as visibility in your gallery.
Use iCloud to Back Up WhatsApp Media on iPhone
For iPhone users, you can auto backup WhatsApp to iCloud and view media in the Photos app:
- Go to iPhone Settings > your name > iCloud.
- Turn on iCloud Backup and ensure WhatsApp is toggled on.
- Go to Settings > Photos and turn on iCloud Photos.
- New WhatsApp media will now backup to iCloud.
- You can manually back up existing media to iCloud Photos.
Your WhatsApp media will now be visible in the Photos app on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. This provides cloud backup and gallery visibility just like Google Photos on Android.
Conclusion
Making your WhatsApp photos, videos and other media visible in your phone’s gallery is simple with the right steps:
- Enable visibility in WhatsApp settings
- Move the WhatsApp media folder to your DCIM
- Use a third-party app to selective show media
- Transfer WhatsApp media to your computer
- Save WhatsApp media on external SD card
- Back up WhatsApp media to Google Photos or iCloud
Choose the method that best suits your needs for easy access, cloud backups and privacy. With these tips, you can safely keep all your WhatsApp media organized and visible in one place for quick viewing and sharing.
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Visibility in WhatsApp | Simple, shows all media | No control, privacy concerns |
| Move Media Folder to Gallery | Direct access, keeps all media | No selectivity, requires file manager |
| Use Third-Party Apps | Selectivity, privacy control | Extra effort to manage |
| Transfer to Computer | Back up and access on bigger screen | Requires desktop app |
| Save to External SD Card | Frees up phone storage | Requires SD card slot |
| Back Up to Cloud | Cloud backup and visibility | Uses cloud storage quota |