Tired of constantly seeing unnecessary photos from WhatsApp cluttering your phone’s gallery? Deleting these photos repeatedly can be a headache. However, there’s a quick fix to help you resolve this issue on your device. In today’s guide, I will show you how to restrict WhatsApp from saving photos to the camera roll.
There are three different ways by which you can stop saving WhatsApp photos on your iPhone or Android smartphone. If you just want to stop images from appearing in the camera roll, then you can turn the toggle off for Save Photos to Camera roll in Settings.
With the second method, you can stop saving media from a specific person or group. The third method lets you completely stop downloading unnecessary photos, then you can change media auto-download settings in Storage and Data settings.
Let’s explore each method in detail.
Editor’s Note: For this tutorial, we used Google Pixel 7a running on Android 14 and iPhone 12 running on iOS 17.2.1, the steps may vary depending on the device you’re using and the software version. Also, if you’re using the older version of WhatsApp, then please update it to the newer one from the App Store or Google Play Store.
How to Stop WhatsApp from Saving Photos on iPhone
iPhone users can easily restrict WhatsApp from saving photos to camera roll, all you need to do is follow these steps. Also, keep in mind that WhatsApp is updated to the newest available version.
Method 1: Stop Saving to Camera Roll
- Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
- Tap Settings from the bottom menu.
- Select the Chats option.
- Turn the toggle off for Save to Camera Roll.
- That’s it.
Method 2: Stop Saving Media from Specific Chat or Group
- Open WhatsApp.
- Choose the Conversation for which you want to restrict media downloads.
- Tap the Name of the Group or Conversation at the top.
- Select the Save to Camera Roll option and Choose Never.
- That’s it.
Method 3: Restrict Media Auto-Download
- Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
- Tap Settings from the navigation bar at the bottom.
- Select the Storage and Data option.
- Under the Media Auto-Download section, tap Photos and now select Never.
- That’s it.
How to Stop WhatsApp from Saving Photos on Android
WhatsApp always pushes new features to Android first and all the above-listed settings are also available on Android. Here are the steps you can follow to restrict auto media downloads on Android.
Method 1: Stop Saving to Camera Roll
- Open WhatsApp on your Android smartphone.
- Tap three dots menu icon at the top.
- Select Settings and tap Chats.
- Turn the toggle off for Media Visibility.
- That’s it.
Method 2: Stop Saving Media from Specific Chat or Group
- Open WhatsApp.
- Choose the Conversation for which you want to restrict media downloads.
- Tap on Media Visibility and select No under Show newly downloaded media from this chat in your device’s gallery.
- That’s it.
Method 3: Restrict Media Auto-Download
- Open WhatsApp on your device.
- Tap the three-dots menu icon at the top and choose Settings.
- Select Storage and Data options.
- Under Media Auto-Download options, select No Media under When using Mobile Data, WiFi, and Roaming.
- That’s it.
How to Stop WhatsApp from Saving Photos on PC
WhatsApp Desktop app automatically saves all photos to your PC same as your cell phone and what’s even better is, that you can restrict the media download on your PC as well. Now let’s look at how you can stop automatic media download on your PC.
Note: By default, WhatsApp Desktop app stores the media in WhatsApp folder in Downloads. If you use WhatsApp Web, then all photos will be stored in the cache memory.
Method for WhatsApp Web
- Open WhatsApp Web in your browser.
- Click on the three-dots icon at the top, then select Settings.
- Now Click the Media auto-download option.
- Uncheck the Photos, Videos, Audio, and Documents option.
- That’s it.
Method for WhatsApp Desktop App
- Open WhatsApp Desktop App.
- Click on the Gear icon at the bottom left corner to enter the Settings.
- Now select storage and uncheck the Photos, Videos, Audio, and Documents option.
- That’s it.
So, these are some easy ways you can use to declutter your camera roll or gallery.
If you still have any queries left, leave them in the comment box. Also, share this article with your friends.
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