With this article, I can teach you the best method to delete WhatsApp media from iPhones and Androids. I have the solution to clear your device of photos, videos, and audio.
Hey, it is your best friend Frankie here to talk a little more about WhatsApp tricks you should know.
Did you know that any of the media you receive on WhatsApp (photos, videos, audio) is not only saved on their servers, but on your device as well?
You likely do know that and you want to know how to get them gone for good, correct?
Not to worry! I am here once again with a new trick that can delete the photos, videos, and other files from your WhatsApp account immediately.
It doesn’t matter if you need to accomplish this because WhatsApp is indirectly using up all of the storage on your phone or you need to hide something secret from prying eyes, you are in the right place.
So, for example, let’s say you want to hide a photo you took in the company of a special “friend” you are chatting with from your partner.
But, back to the problem at hand. You need to know two relevant things:
- All media, including photos, videos, and audio are stored both in WhatsApp and in the smartphone’s memory.
- There are many ways to access these images and videos, therefore, your privacy is substantially endangered.
Frankie’s Take:
I nearly forgot – there are spyware apps capable of showing all media files even after they have been deleted. I therefore encourage anyone to read my guide How to Cheat on WhatsApp without Getting Caught. You can learn many ways to protect your phone from spy apps.
In this article I can explain:
- How to Prevent WhatsApp from Storing Photos in the Gallery
- Permanently Delete Media from WhatsApp and Phone’s Memory
Let’s begin!
How to Prevent WhatsApp from Storing Photos in the Gallery
The first defense in this situation is to prevent the immediate saving of all media sent to your account. This is easy to do:
- Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chat.
- Find Save Incoming Media and you can disable it by toggling to OFF.
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap on More Options (3 vertical dots) > Settings > Chat.
- Click on Media visibility > Uncheck the flag (You might also need to set this to NO depending on the phone).
Android devices also offer another way that you can do this, namely through the creation of a .nomedia folder. I do not recommend choosing this route, since it is more complicated and the result is the same. If you have time and want to try it anyhow, learn more here on the WhatsApp website.
Frankie’s Take:
This particular function has an effect on what files do once you disable this option but does not affect files that have already been downloaded. All photo and video content downloaded before this change in settings must get manually removed.
Now, you have all of your bases covered for the future.
Now, I can show you how to delete photos and videos that you been sent to you (or sent by you) that occurred before you changed these settings.
Permanently Delete Media from WhatsApp and Phone’s Memory
Now, let’s not waste any time learning how to delete WhatsApp media from your camera roll.
- Open WhatsApp > Open the Chat with media you want to delete > Click Name of Contact or Group.
- A screen can then open with Media, Links, and Docs. Check that Media tab is selected on top.
- Pick pictures you want to delete from the chat and tap on the trash icon at the bottom right.
- You can choose the option Delete for Me, which removes it from your account. If you are the person who sent the images or content, you have a small window of time (around 7 minutes) to choose Delete for Everyone option.
You can also take this opportunity at this point to access your Camera Roll and delete these images as well.
If you have completed both parts of this equation, there is no chance of someone picking up your phone and encountering suggestive images or content, either through WhatsApp or in your Camera Roll.
- Open WhatsApp and go to Chat.
- Pick a chat that has photos and videos you wish to delete.
- Click on More options (3 vertical dots) at the top right and then Media.
- Manually select all photo, video and audio files to be deleted. Tap on Trash icon.
- By choosing Delete for Me you are removing them locally from your account so that they are out of the chat in WhatsApp on your device. If you have sent the media out, you have a smaller window of time to choose Delete for Everyone and it can get universally removed everywhere.
As an alternative, there is a great tool I found called Cleaner for WhatsApp. It can locate WhatsApp media of all types and remove it from your device.
All you need to do now is to exit WhatsApp, go into the Gallery on your device, and delete all of the images (or the problematic ones at least) from the Images folder designated to WhatsApp.
Frankie’s Take:
If you have managed to follow all of these steps directly, you have helped to increase your available storage on your phone but also increased its security as well.
Conclusion
With this article, you have learned to prevent WhatsApp from automatically saving new content sent to or by you. You have also learned the direct path to permanently deleting what content might already exist on the phone.
Don’t Stop There – Maximize Your WhatsApp Security Level
Deleting media from WhatsApp is just one of the many steps necessary to protect your smartphone’s privacy.
If you want 100% assurance that no one will find out what you do on WhatsApp, I really think you should read my guide on How to Cheat on WhatsApp without Getting Caught.
If you have any questions, or something else to add to the discussion, feel free to drop a line in the comment box below. I will be sure to get back with you quickly.
A hug,
