Meta’s WhatsApp has become an important means of online communication. Its phone number-based contacts system has been a good substitute for mobile carrier texting since it became mainstream.
But how much space are you willing to sacrifice just for WhatsApp? Why is it taking so much space, and what exactly can you do to fix it? Here’s how you may get WhatsApp to take up less storage on your smartphone.
1. Disable Auto-Downloads
When you first install WhatsApp, its default settings are set to automatically download media when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. This media can really clog your phone up, especially if you’re on a large and active group chat.
So, the first preventative thing you should do is turn off auto-downloads. Here’s how to do it on an iPhone:
To do this on an Android phone, follow these steps:
This method is also one of the majortips for saving data on WhatsApp. Now, you get to choose precisely what you wish to download.
2. Delete WhatsApp Media Files
After disabling auto-downloads, the next thing you must do is find the media files you don’t need and delete them. If you save photos and videos to your phone gallery, you can delete them right from there. But it’s easier if you manage WhatsApp’s media in-app.
You should back up your chats before doing this to avoid deleting something important. We have aguide for backing up WhatsApp chats to Google Drive for Android users.
WhatsApp has a media manager that displays how much space WhatsApp is taking versus other apps on your phone. It also arranges chats and media according to how much space they’re taking. Here’s how to use it:
The Manage Storage page is the same on an iPhone and an Android phone.
3. Turn On Disappearing Messages
Meta introduced disappearing messages to WhatsApp in 2020 and expanded the feature to allow users to turn it on by default for all or certain chats. But not only is this feature useful for privacy reasons, but it’s also a great way to manage space.
You’ll find the option to enable disappearing messages in theManage Storagesection of WhatsApp’s settings. You can find it by tappingYou> Storage and Dataon an iPhone orSettings > Storage and Dataon an Android phone.
TapTurn On Disappearing Messagesand selectDefault Message Timerto set a default countdown to when the messages you send and receive will disappear. If you want to be more selective, tapApply Timer to Chatsto choose what chats you would like to place disappearing messages on.
After that, all your chats beginning from when you enable this feature will automatically delete after the specified time.
Before you begin to use it, you should read all you’re able to aboutWhatsApp’s disappearing messages. It has its pros, but it also has its setbacks and limitations.
Control Your WhatsApp Bloat
If you want to avoid scrambling to find what you should delete to create space every month, your best bet is to take a preventative stance against WhatsApp’s bloating. Meta has introduced high-definition videos and photos to WhatsApp, and simply leaving those to automatically download into your storage can cause WhatsApp to take up storage more quickly.
