Whatsapp: Free up unnecessarily used memory – this is how it works

Every time you receive or send a photo, video or voice message on Whatsapp, the app saves this file on your mobile phone. Over time, this can add up to a considerable mountain of data and eat up memory unnecessarily. Thanks to a specific function in Whatsapp, you have the option of managing and deleting saved media if you no longer need them. We explain exactly how this works in this guide.

Manage data and storage on Whatsapp

The Messenger contains an area in which you can clearly see how much storage space your Whatsapp media are taking up and where particularly large files are hidden that you may no longer need. To do this, proceed as follows:

In addition to the memory allocation of your mobile phone, this window shows you all the chats and groups that require the most storage space – conveniently sorted by size in descending order. By clicking on the individual chats, you can see in preview images and specifying the file size which media you have sent or received from the relevant contact.

To delete, select either individual files or all files at once and press the trash can in the upper right corner. If you are no longer sure what is behind a particular video or voice message, you can call up this file with one click and play it again.

Notice:

Chats that contain only a few media and therefore hardly take up any storage space will not be displayed to you.

Send media for one-time viewing only

We’ll reveal another way to save your storage space from unnecessary garbage: sending media for one-time viewing. Once the file has been opened by the recipient, it automatically disappears from the chat and is therefore no longer saved.

Of course, this feature is extremely unsuitable for important messages or photos. But if, for example, you have very confidential media that you don’t want to know either in your memory or in the recipient’s memory, the “View Once” function can be extremely useful.

You might also be interested in: