How to Delete WhatsApp Photos from iPhone and Android

Photos take up a lot of space on our phones. If you are quite active on WhatsApp, you must be the recipient of some WhatsApp photos. While some are meaningful and important, others just feel like spam taking up space. You can delete such photos from WhatsApp on iPhone and Android.

WhatsApp photos can be deleted in two ways — from WhatsApp itself and the photo viewer (gallery app). The steps and functions are different for Android and iPhone.

Let’s see different methods to delete WhatsApp photos. But before that, you need to understand how WhatsApp media is stored on your phone.

How and where WhatsApp images are saved on Android and iPhone

Normally, you need to tap on the received photo to download it in WhatsApp. On both Android and iPhone, you have a feature in WhatsApp called Auto Download Media. When enabled, WhatsApp will automatically download received photos.

However, the operation will be different after they are downloaded to WhatsApp. On Android, photos downloaded on WhatsApp are also saved to the gallery app. You can view them inside WhatsApp and the gallery app.

On iPhone, when you receive a photo, it is not automatically downloaded to the Camera Roll. The photo remains on the WhatsApp server and can only be viewed inside WhatsApp. You need to save them manually using the Save button included in WhatsApp or enable the ‘Save to Photo Library’ setting to view them inside the Photos app or any other gallery app on your iPhone.

Now let’s see six methods to delete photos from WhatsApp on iPhone and Android.

Method 1: Delete recent photos in WhatsApp Chat

Here are the steps.

Iphone

Photos deleted using this method will only be deleted from WhatsApp even if you have them saved to your Photo Gallery. You can view such photos in the Apple Photos app after deleting them from WhatsApp.

To delete a photo, open the chat. Tap and hold the photo you want to delete. Tap Add followed by Remove.

You can select multiple photos by tapping them. Then, tap the delete icon at the bottom. Finally, tap Delete for me.

Android

Open the WhatsApp chat from where you want to delete the photo. Tap and hold the photo you want to delete. If you want to delete multiple photos then you have to select one and tap on the others to select them.

Hit the delete icon at the top. A pop-up window will appear. In case you just want to delete photos from WhatsApp, uncheck “Delete media in this chat” and tap on Remove for me. Photos will continue to take up storage on your phone and they will also appear in the gallery app. To remove it from the gallery app, make sure you have ‘Delete media in this chat’ selected. Then tap Delete for me.

Method 2: Delete old photos from WhatsApp Chat

The method mentioned above is very useful for deleting recent photos. If you want to delete old photos, you’ll have to scroll up and find them. That makes it tedious. To avoid that, follow the steps mentioned below.

Iphone

Tap the contact or group name at the top of the WhatsApp chat. You will be taken to the information screen. Tap Media, Links, and Documents.

Tap Select. Then tap the photos to select them. Tap the delete icon at the bottom, then tap Delete for me. The selected photos will be deleted from the WhatsApp chat. However, those images will remain on your phone if you have them saved and available in the Photos app.

Android

Tap the contact or group name at the top of the WhatsApp chat. You will be taken to the information screen. Click Media.

There you will find all your photos, videos, and even documents. Tap and hold the photo you want to delete. Then tap on others if you want to delete multiple photos. Finally, click on the delete icon. Again, as in the previous method, you will get a pop-up. Select ‘Delete media in this chat’ if you also want to remove it from your gallery app. Tap Delete to give me permission.

Method 3: Delete WhatsApp photos from Gallery

You can use any gallery app on your phone for this method, including the Google Photos and Apple Photos apps.

Iphone

On iPhone, only photos you’ve manually saved can be deleted from Apple Photos or other gallery apps. Deleting WhatsApp photos with this method will not remove them from WhatsApp. They will still appear in the chat.

Launch the Apple Photos app and open the WhatsApp photo you want to delete. You can select multiple photos using the Select option at the top. Then tap the delete icon, followed by confirmation on the next screen.

Android

Launch the gallery app and find the photo you want to delete. Then tap the delete icon.

Now, when you delete a photo from the gallery app, it will also be deleted from WhatsApp on Android. You will then see a download icon on the photo. You will have to download it again. However, that can only happen if the sender has not deleted the photo from their side. Otherwise, WhatsApp will show you an error message.

Interestingly, if the gallery app from which you deleted photos supports the ability to retrieve deleted photos for a fixed period of time, the photos will stay on WhatsApp and in the gallery app’s deleted items folder . Most apps label it as Trash or Trash, which can often get full. After the allotted time has passed, the photo will be permanently deleted from your phone and WhatsApp.

Tip: Check out our detailed guide on how to delete WhatsApp photos from Google Photos

Method 4: Delete all photos from chat without deleting chat

WhatsApp offers a native option to manage the storage space it occupies. That is, you can individually delete messages, media files such as photos, videos, documents, etc. from individual chats. Here are the steps:

Iphone

Step 1: Launch WhatsApp and tap on Settings at the bottom. Tap Data usage and storage.

Step 2: Tap on Storage usage at the bottom.

Step 3: Tap the contact whose picture you want to delete. Tap Manage at the bottom of the next screen.

Step 4: Continue to select the Photo option. Then tap Delete at the bottom. Confirm in the pop-up box.

All photos will be removed from that chat. However, any photos you’ve saved to Photo Library will remain the same.

Android

To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap on the three dots icon at the top. Select Settings from the menu.

Step 2: Tap Data and storage usage, then Storage usage.

Step 3: Tap the contact name for which you want to delete all photos. Use search to find contacts.

Step 4: WhatsApp will display the space occupied by various elements such as photos, videos, GIFs, etc. Click Free up space at the bottom.

Step 5: Deselect other things and continue to select Photos. Tap Delete item. A pop-up window will appear. Tap Delete message.

Note

Method 5: Delete all WhatsApp photos by deleting chat

If you agree to delete all messages and other media files from the chat, you can delete the chat. Doing so will delete all photos, videos and other documents from WhatsApp.

Iphone

When you use this method on your iPhone, your saved WhatsApp photos in the Camera Roll will not be deleted from the Photos app. Only photos in WhatsApp will be deleted along with messages and other things from that chat.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Open WhatsApp chat and tap the contact name at the top.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap Delete chat. A confirmation box will appear. Tap Delete all messages.

Android

Step 1: Open the chat and tap the three-dot icon at the top. Choose more.

Step 2: Tap Delete chat. A pop-up window will appear. If you want to remove photos from your gallery app, you should select ‘Delete media in this chat’. Click Delete.

Method 6: Delete WhatsApp photos from all chats

If you want to save space on your phone, you can delete all received WhatsApp photos at once. Here’s how to do it.

Iphone

On iPhone, this method will only work for photos saved to your phone. Photos in WhatsApp will not be affected.

To do so, open the Apple Photos app and go to the Albums section. Tap WhatsApp.

Tap Select at the top, then tap Select All present in the top left corner. Then tap the delete icon at the top.

Android

You will find a folder called WhatsApp Images on your gallery app. Open it and select all the photos. You can even select several images.

Bonus 1: How to Stop Auto-Downloading Photos on Android and iPhone

On Android, open WhatsApp settings and go to Data and storage usage. You’ll find three options — mobile data, Wi-Fi, and roaming. Tap on them one by one and deselect Photos. By doing so, the photo will automatically stop downloading. You will have to tap on the photos in WhatsApp to download them.

On iPhone, tap WhatsApp Settings, then Data and Storage Usage. Then tap Photos. Select Never.

Bonus 2: How to Stop Auto-Save Photos on iPhone

To prevent your iPhone from automatically saving downloaded WhatsApp photos to your Camera Roll, go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats. Turn off the Save to Camera Roll toggle.

Delete for everyone

When you delete a received photo, it is deleted only from you, not from the sender. However, WhatsApp has a feature where you can also delete sent messages from the recipient’s end. This feature is called Delete for Everyone. If you are curious about deleted messages, know how to view deleted WhatsApp messages.

Next up: Did you accidentally delete an important photo? This is a detailed guide on how to recover deleted photos in WhatsApp.

Categories: How to
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