WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion monthly active users. Recently, many WhatsApp users have noticed that the app is taking up a lot more storage space on their phones than before. There are a few key reasons why WhatsApp’s storage requirements seem to be increasing:
Increased Media Sharing
WhatsApp allows users to easily share photos, videos, GIFs, voice messages, and other multimedia content. As users share more of this type of content, the app needs more storage space to cache it on devices. A typical 3 minute video can take up around 30-40 MB of space. Even photos use up storage, with the average photo on WhatsApp being around 3 MB. With billions of users frequently sharing media files, this adds up quickly.
Group Chats
WhatsApp has group chats that allow up to 256 users to communicate in the same conversation. All the messages, images, videos and files shared in huge groups take up significant storage over time. The more active groups a user is a part of, the more space required to store chat histories.
Frequently Forwarded Media
WhatsApp allows messages, photos, videos etc. to be easily forwarded to other chats. When the same media gets forwarded to multiple chats and groups repeatedly, multiple copies end up being stored by the app. This replicated content piles up over time.
Backups
WhatsApp has an auto backup function to Google Drive or iCloud. Backups contain your entire message history, media files, and settings. As you use WhatsApp more, these backups keep growing in size and take up more cloud storage. Restoring from larger backups also requires more local storage on the device.
New Features
With each update, WhatsApp adds new features that require storage space like stickers, communication with WhatsApp Web and desktop, status updates, dark mode etc. For example, status photos and videos are stored in encrypted format on your phone even after they disappear on the app.
Improved Media Quality
WhatsApp has been increasing their media quality over the years. Higher resolution images, higher quality videos and audio files naturally consume more storage space compared to compressed, low resolution files.
Device Storage Capacity
As smartphone storage capacity grows, so does the size of apps and media content. A 128GB phone today holds a lot more WhatsApp media and data compared to a 16GB phone from a few years ago. So even if WhatsApp’s storage requirement remains proportional, the absolute usage increases.
How Much Storage Does WhatsApp Use?
So just how much space is WhatsApp consuming on devices nowadays? Here are some approximate numbers:
| Usage Type | Storage Space |
|---|---|
| App Install Size | ~100 MB |
| Chat Database | ~100 MB (text only) ~2 GB (with media attachments) |
| Backups | ~100 MB – 2 GB |
| Cached Media | ~500 MB – 3 GB |
| Status Media | ~100 MB |
As you can see, the app itself takes up around 100 MB. For users who primarily text, the chat database would also be in the range of 100 MB.
However, when thousands of photos and videos are exchanged over time, the chat database can grow to 1-2 GB. Backups range from 100 MB for new users to up to 2 GB for those with long chat histories.
The media cache stores a copy of photos, videos, documents etc. locally and can easily occupy 500 MB to 3 GB depending on usage. Status content and sticker packs take up additional storage.
So in total, for heavy users who share a lot of media, WhatsApp could be using 3-5 GB of storage or even more in some cases.
Pro Tips to Reduce WhatsApp Storage Usage
Here are some tips to reduce WhatsApp’s storage footprint and free up space:
Clean Up Chat Backup
Delete old chats and media from your Google Drive or iCloud backup that you no longer need. This will reduce backup size on the cloud and local storage needed for restores.
Clear Media Cache
Go into Storage Usage inside WhatsApp Settings and tap on Clear Cache to delete locally stored media. This removes copies of files already backed up.
Limit Forwarding
Avoid mass forwarding of media files to multiple chats repeatedly. This duplicates content and wastes space.
Compress Media
Use third party apps to compress images and videos before sharing on WhatsApp. Smaller file sizes take up less space.
Delete Large Groups
Leave or delete large WhatsApp groups that you are no longer active in. This frees up storage used by that group’s media.
Turn Off Auto-Download
Disable auto-download of media and documents for some chats. Manual downloads save storage versus automatic saves.
Reduce Backup Frequency
Change WhatsApp backup frequency from daily to monthly or manual. Less frequent backups are smaller in size.
Use File Manager
Check folder sizes in your phone’s file manager to identify and delete large unwanted WhatsApp media files.
Export Chats
Backup chats to a computer and export media to free up space on phone. This preserves memories but removes bulk storage needs.
Enable Storage Limits
Set a storage limit for WhatsApp under Usage in Settings. This helps prevent runaway storage usage.
Conclusion
WhatsApp’s storage usage has definitely ballooned over the years as user content and app features have grown. Thankfully, there are many ways to reduce and optimize the storage burden of WhatsApp’s chat databases, backups, media cache and other components. savvy users should implement a combination of cleaning techniques, usage limits and compression tools to keep WhatsApp storage needs in check. With some prudent changes to usage habits and configuration, WhatsApp can continue to be used while freeing up significant storage capacity on phones.