When you delete a photo from WhatsApp, whether or not it is also deleted from your phone’s gallery depends on a few factors. WhatsApp has two different ways of saving media – it can either save photos and videos to your phone’s internal storage or to WhatsApp’s own storage. The default setting is for WhatsApp to use your phone’s storage, so any photos or videos you receive will be saved directly into your camera gallery. If this is the case, then deleting a photo or video from the WhatsApp app will also delete it from your phone’s gallery since it is the same file in both places.
However, WhatsApp also gives you the option to change your chat media visibility settings and have it save all media to internal WhatsApp storage instead of your phone’s gallery. If you enable this setting, then any new photos or videos you receive in chats will be saved only within the WhatsApp app itself and not appear in your regular phone gallery.
In this case, deleting a photo from WhatsApp will not affect the copy saved in your camera gallery since they are now separate files in different storage locations. The photo will remain untouched in your phone’s gallery even though you deleted it from the WhatsApp app.
So in summary:
– If WhatsApp is set to save media to your phone’s internal storage, deleting a photo in WhatsApp will delete it from your gallery too.
– If WhatsApp is set to save media only to WhatsApp’s internal storage, deleting a photo in WhatsApp will not affect the version in your phone’s gallery.
To check which setting you have enabled, open WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats > Media Visibility and see if the “Show media in gallery” option is toggled on or off. This will tell you whether WhatsApp is saving photos/videos to your phone or just internally to the app.
When Does Deleting a WhatsApp Photo Also Delete the Photo from Your Gallery?
When WhatsApp is configured to save media files to your device’s internal storage, deleting a photo or video from within the WhatsApp app will also delete it from your phone’s native gallery. Here is some additional information on when this occurs:
- The default setting in WhatsApp automatically saves incoming media to your device’s storage. So any new photos or videos sent to you will show up in your phone’s gallery by default.
- If auto-download is enabled, any media files you receive in WhatsApp will automatically be stored to your device storage and gallery.
- Any media you share from your phone’s gallery into WhatsApp will also be copied and saved back into your device storage and gallery.
- Media that is already saved to your phone’s internal storage will display in both WhatsApp and your native gallery.
- If you delete the media within WhatsApp while this setting is enabled, it will delete the file from your device storage as well, removing it from your gallery.
In summary, with the default WhatsApp media settings, your device storage is treated as the primary location for media files. Deleting a photo or video in WhatsApp essentially deletes the original file, so it will disappear from your phone’s gallery too.
When Does Deleting WhatsApp Media NOT Delete from Your Gallery?
In contrast, if you have changed your WhatsApp settings to save media only to WhatsApp’s private storage, deleting photos or videos within the app will NOT remove them from your native phone gallery. Here are some key points about when media files are retained:
- Enabling the “Save to Gallery” setting in WhatsApp means only WhatsApp storage will be used to store incoming media.
- With this setting off, any new media sent to you will not appear in your device gallery.
- Any media already saved to your device storage prior to changing the setting will still be visible in your gallery.
- Turning this setting off only affects new, incoming media – existing media remains untouched.
- Deleting media in WhatsApp only deletes the copy stored within WhatsApp storage, not your device storage.
- So your original media files in the gallery will remain unaltered when deleting WhatsApp media.
In this scenario, your device storage and gallery are separate from WhatsApp. Media saved only to WhatsApp will not impact your phone’s gallery if deleted within the app.
How to Check Your WhatsApp Media Visibility Settings
It’s easy to check your WhatsApp media visibility settings to see where your files are being saved and if they will be deleted from your gallery when removed in WhatsApp:
- Open the WhatsApp app on your phone.
- Tap on the three dot menu icon in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap on Chats.
- Tap on Media Visibility.
- Here you will see the “Show media in gallery” option.
- If the switch is enabled, WhatsApp saves media to your device storage.
- If disabled, WhatsApp saves media only to internal WhatsApp storage.
Checking these settings before deleting media in WhatsApp ensures you know where the file is saved and whether your device gallery will be affected.
You can also change these settings at any time if you want to have your WhatsApp media show up in your phone’s gallery or not.
How To Prevent Deletion from Gallery When Removing WhatsApp Media
If you want to delete photos or videos from WhatsApp but keep them intact in your phone’s gallery, follow these steps:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Chats > Media Visibility.
- Disable the “Show media in gallery” option.
- This will make WhatsApp store media only within internal WhatsApp storage.
- Now when you delete any media in a WhatsApp chat it will only delete the WhatsApp copy, not your gallery copy.
- You can delete WhatsApp media without worrying about losing it from your camera roll.
- New media will also not be added to your phone’s gallery going forward.
- To save media back to your gallery, use the Save to Gallery option in WhatsApp.
With this setting disabled, you have full control over deleting WhatsApp media while keeping your original gallery files untouched for backup. It separates the WhatsApp media from your permanent phone gallery storage.
How To Delete WhatsApp Media Without Deleting from Gallery
Follow this process if you want to remove photos or videos from WhatsApp chats without having them deleted from your camera roll gallery at the same time:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Media Visibility.
- Turn off the “Show media in gallery” option.
- Return to your WhatsApp chats and open the chat with the media you want to delete.
- Tap and hold on the photo/video to select it.
- Tap the trash can icon to delete it.
- Confirm deletion when prompted.
- The media will be removed from WhatsApp but remain visible in your phone’s gallery.
- Repeat for any other media files you wish to delete only from WhatsApp.
- The original media remains stored in your phone storage and camera roll.
With those simple steps, you can precisely delete WhatsApp media while keeping your gallery untouched – giving you more control over your media storage.
How To Recover Deleted WhatsApp Media from Gallery
If you deleted a photo or video from WhatsApp and your phone’s gallery by accident, there are a few ways you may be able to recover the lost media:
- If you have iCloud backups enabled on an iPhone, you may be able to restore the deleted photos from a recent backup.
- On Android, check your Google Photos trash which keeps deleted media for up to 60 days.
- Use data recovery software to scan your phone storage and find deleted files that can be retrieved.
- Root or jailbreak your device and use file explorer apps to search internal storage for deleted data.
- Connect your phone to a computer and use desktop recovery software for a deep scan.
- On Samsung phones, the Gallery recycling bin keeps deleted files for up to 15 days.
The sooner you act after deleting the files, the higher chance you have of recovering them successfully. Avoid adding anything new to your device’s storage to prevent overwriting the deleted data.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Media after 60 Days?
It becomes very difficult to recover deleted WhatsApp media after 60 days have passed for a few reasons:
- Your phone has likely overwritten the storage space used by the deleted files with new data.
- Cloud backups only keep limited versions and get updated with the deletion.
- WhatsApp media gets encrypted immediately which makes scanning harder.
- Recovery software relies on fragments of data still being present on the device.
- The more time passes, the less residual trace remains of the deleted files.
However, there are a couple last ditch methods you could try if absolutely desperate to recover very old deleted WhatsApp media:
- Consult a professional data recovery service – they dismantle the phone and scan the memory chips directly.
- If you have an old backup of your WhatsApp data from over 60 days ago stored on a computer, you may find the deleted files still intact within this archive.
But realistically, beyond 60 days your chances are extremely slim even with advanced recovery methods. The data is likely to have been irrecoverably overwritten multiple times by new content. Always be sure to backup your WhatsApp media if you wish to keep copies of important files.
How WhatsApp Media Backup Works
Backing up your WhatsApp media can prevent losing photos, videos, and files if you accidentally delete them or switch devices. Here’s an overview of how WhatsApp’s built-in backup features work:
- Local Backup – Daily backup to local phone storage of latest media files and chats.
- Google Drive Backup – Media, messages, and settings backup to Google Drive cloud storage.
- iCloud Backup – Automatic WhatsApp backup for iOS users with iCloud.
- Encrypted – End-to-end encryption protects privacy of chat content and media.
- Restore – When reinstalling WhatsApp, restore from local, Google or iCloud backup.
- Transfer – Migrate chats and media when switching phones using local backup file.
Leveraging WhatsApp’s built-in backup services ensures you have multiple copies of your important media files and chat history. Enabling backups prevents permanent data loss if you delete files within the app.
WhatsApp Media Auto Backup Frequency
| Backup Type | Auto Backup Frequency |
|---|---|
| Local Backup | Daily |
| Google Drive Backup | Daily |
| iCloud Backup | Daily or Weekly |
As shown in the table, WhatsApp configures automatic daily backups for local storage and Google Drive. iCloud backups can be daily or weekly.
Recovering Deleted WhatsApp Media from Backups
If you need to restore deleted WhatsApp media from a backup after accidental deletion, follow these steps:
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
- On prompt, restore chat history and media from Google Drive or iCloud backup.
- Media deleted within past 30 days will be restored from backup copies.
- Verify restored media is now visible within WhatsApp again.
- Optionally move any restored media you want to keep back into phone gallery.
Backups serve as a way to “rewind time” and undo any media deletions from WhatsApp within the last month or so, depending on your backup settings.
WhatsApp Media Storage Usage
WhatsApp can consume significant storage space on your phone depending on usage habits. Here are some key details on how WhatsApp media affects device storage:
- Photos and videos, especially in high resolution, take up storage space.
- Voice messages also get saved and occupy storage.
- Group chats with media shared consume more space.
- Encrypting media uses additional storage capacity.
- Backups count against phone or cloud storage limits.
- Media is duplicated across WhatsApp storage and device gallery.
Let’s take a look at some example WhatsApp media storage usage scenarios:
WhatsApp Media Storage Usage Examples
| User Type | Storage Used |
|---|---|
| Individual User | 1-2 GB |
| Small Business | 5-10 GB |
| Active Social Group User | 10-20 GB |
As you can see, average individual users tend to consume up to 2GB with WhatsApp media and backups. Small businesses may use 5-10GB sharing product catalogs and communicating. Heavy social group users can build up to 20GB of photos and videos.
Tips for Managing WhatsApp Media Storage
Here are some tips to help optimize and free up storage space used by WhatsApp media on your phone:
- Enable WhatsApp setting to stop auto-downloading media when on mobile data.
- Frequently clear old media you no longer need by using the delete option.
- Trim large videos before sending to reduce size.
- Limit sharing and forwarding large files unnecessarily.
- Save important media you want to keep to your phone gallery.
- Review and delete unused large media from chats and backups.
- Disable WhatsApp backup or exclude large media files.
- Offload unused WhatsApp media to cloud storage services.
Following these tips will help prevent WhatsApp media from filling up your phone’s internal storage over time. Remove unnecessary content regularly and utilize cloud storage apps to offload files you want to preserve.
Conclusion
In summary, whether deleting WhatsApp media also deletes it from your device gallery depends on your WhatsApp media visibility settings. The default saves incoming media to your phone storage, causing deletions to sync across WhatsApp and your gallery. However, you can configure WhatsApp to use internal storage only. This separates WhatsApp media from your gallery, allowing deletions within the app to not affect your phone’s gallery. Checking your settings and enabling backups provides protection against accidental deletion. Manage your storage usage by removing unneeded content over time. With a few simple steps, you can take control over your WhatsApp media and device storage.