WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users. With so many people using WhatsApp to send messages, photos, videos, and more, storage space can quickly fill up. That’s where the “Manage Storage” feature comes in handy.
Saving Storage Space
The main purpose of managing storage in WhatsApp is to save space on your phone. When you open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage, you’ll see a breakdown of how much storage space is being used by different types of WhatsApp data.
This includes the space used for:
- Messages – Text messages you’ve sent and received.
- Media – Photos, videos, voice messages, GIFs, documents.
- WhatsApp Web and Desktop – Data from linked WhatsApp Web/Desktop sessions.
- Other – Account information, settings, cache files.
You can then choose to delete items you no longer need to free up storage space. This can help avoid filling up your phone’s storage, which can lead to slow performance and the inability to receive new messages and media.
Managing Chats
In Manage Storage, you have the option to view and delete media from specific chats and groups. This allows you to identify conversations taking up a lot of space, like groups you’ve left or people you no longer talk to regularly. Removing old chats and their associated media is an easy way to recover a significant amount of storage.
Cleaning Up Large Files
The Manage Storage screen shows you exactly how much space different media types are using in WhatsApp. Photos and videos tend to consume the most storage, so deleting large files you no longer need is an impactful way to save space.
You can sort media types from largest to smallest, making it easy to delete the big space hogs. Getting rid of a few big videos can sometimes recover more space than deleting thousands of small messages.
Removing WhatsApp Web Sessions
If you use WhatsApp Web or Desktop a lot, your message history and data can build up in your online sessions over time. This data takes up part of your phone’s WhatsApp storage, even if you’re accessing the app through your computer or browser.
Deleting old or inactive linked devices through Manage Storage can help clear out this online data and restore space on your phone. It’s a good idea to remove any computers or phones you’re no longer using to access WhatsApp.
Freeing Up Space for New Data
In addition to spring cleaning your storage, managing WhatsApp’s data usage can also help you make room for new messages, media files, and other data.
As your usage grows over time, your storage will naturally fill up. Regularly removing old, unneeded conversations and media can free up space for new data coming in.
This helps prevent your phone storage from completely filling up as you continue to actively use WhatsApp. The app needs breathing room to save new files from your contacts.
Regaining Performance
Phones tend to slow down and lag as their storage fills up. This is because the operating system has less free space available to manage processes efficiently behind the scenes.
By deleting old WhatsApp data you’re no longer using, you can potentially speed up performance and reduce lag issues. With more free space, your phone won’t have to work as hard to juggle active apps and background tasks.
Backing Up Conversations
Before deleting chats and media in WhatsApp, it’s a good idea to back them up either locally to your phone’s storage or to the cloud using Google Drive or iCloud. This provides a safety net in case you want to retrieve something later.
Backups also come in handy if you’re managing storage space in preparation for a device change. You can move your WhatsApp conversation history to a new phone to continue where you left off.
Automated Cleanup
In addition to manually managing storage, WhatsApp also provides some automated cleanup features for photos, videos and messages.
You can enable the following options in Settings > Storage and Data Usage:
- Delete Expired Chats – Automatically remove very old chats that haven’t been opened in over a year.
- Low Data Usage – Reduce data usage by limiting automatic media downloads and quality.
- When Using Mobile Data – Disable auto-download of media when on mobile data.
These options help automatically remove and restrict downloading media you may no longer need over time. Less downloads means more available storage.
Troubleshooting Issues
If you try managing WhatsApp’s storage but still experience issues like crashes or inability to download files, try these troubleshooting steps:
- Force close and restart the WhatsApp app.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version from your app store.
- Restart your phone to clear out any software glitches.
- Check for and install any pending operating system updates.
- Delete cache and data for WhatsApp through your system settings.
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp as a last resort.
Following these steps can help rule out any software bugs causing continued storage issues in the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does managing storage delete my WhatsApp messages?
Yes, when you delete chats, media or other data through the Manage Storage screen, it will permanently erase those WhatsApp messages, photos, videos, etc. The items you select to remove will no longer be available in your conversation history.
Is my WhatsApp data still backed up if I delete it?
No, when you intentionally delete elements like chats or media through Manage Storage, this also deletes them from your local WhatsApp backups and cloud backups. They will no longer be retained in any backup files.
Do my contacts have to resend media if I delete it?
If you’ve deleted a specific photo, video or other file from WhatsApp storage management, your contacts would need to resend it for you to get it back. Managing storage removes that media entirely from your app and backups.
Can I recover media after deleting it from Manage Storage?
Unfortunately no, there is no way to recover media that you intentionally remove through the storage manager. This deletes the files permanently from your phone and WhatsApp servers.
Will Manage Storage delete media saved to my phone gallery?
No, managing your WhatsApp storage will only delete data saved within the WhatsApp app itself. It does not delete or modify any media, like photos, that you’ve saved to your phone’s native gallery outside WhatsApp.
Conclusion
Cleaning up and managing your WhatsApp storage space can provide many benefits. It frees up valuable storage, speeds up performance, makes room for new data, and clears out clutter from old chats and media. Take advantage of both manual and automated tools to keep storage usage optimized.
Remember to back up important conversations before deleting and troubleshoot any issues that arise after managing storage. With a little regular maintenance, you can keep WhatsApp running smoothly for cheap comms with friends and family.