Do you find it frustrating that Whatsapp videos and photos automatically download to your gallery? It can be annoying to see unwanted files taking up space in your storage, especially when you keep deleting them but they keep downloading. You just need to adjust your Whatsapp settings to control how your auto-download works. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Whatsapp auto download.
What is Whatsapp Auto Download
The auto-download feature in WhatsApp will automatically download any media files (such as pictures, videos, and audio) that you receive through the app. This can be quite helpful if you don’t want to manually download every media file, as it saves time and ensures that you don’t miss any crucial media from group or individual discussions. However, if you find this feature to be inconvenient, you can customise it to your liking. WhatsApp allows you to change the settings so that you can download specific media formats from different networks. For instance, you may choose to download only photos when using cellular data or videos and audio messages will be downloaded automatically only when you are connected to Wi-Fi.
Advantages of using Whatsapp Auto-Download
1. You can easily view media without downloading it, improving user experience.
2. Automatically downloaded media files are available for viewing even when the device is offline. This is useful for users who want to access content without relying on real-time internet connectivity.
3. It eliminates the need to wait for a large media file to download, how annoying it can be.
Disadvantages of using Whatsapp Auto-Download
1. It can waste data if you don’t want to keep the media.
2. Constant automatic downloads can quickly occupy device storage, especially if the user receives a large volume of media files
3. It can be annoying if you don’t want to keep every piece of media that you receive.
How to disable Whatsapp Auto Download On Android
Here are the steps in disabling auto-download feature on Whatsapp on android:
Step 1: On your WhatsApp, click on the three dotted tab at the right-hand corner
Step 2: Select Settings > storage and data
Step 3: Under Media-auto download, deselect any media under your preferred network type.
when using mobile data will download media when connected to a cellular network. By default, only photos are enabled to download when connected to a mobile data.
when connected on a Wi-Fi will download media connected to a Wi-Fi network. By default, all media are enabled to download when connected to a Wi-Fi.
When roaming, simply when connected to a roaming data. No media is enabled under this network because roaming data can be expensive.
How to disable Whatsapp Auto Download On iOS
Here are the steps to disable auto-download on Whatsapp on iPhone:
Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
Step 2: Click on Settings > Storage and Data.
Step 3: Under the label “Media Auto-Download”, set your preferred option (Photos, Audio, Video, and Documents) to “Never”.
If you have a specific media in mind that you’d like to download when using a particular network, you can set it up here.
ALSO READ: How to setup Whatsapp passkey
How to disable Whatsapp Auto Download On Whatsapp Web
It is also possible to customize your auto-download feature on Whatsapp web. For Whatsapp Web, you only select the media without a network unlike the mobile app. Here are the steps to disable auto download for Whatsapp web:
1. Open Whatsapp web on your PC
2. Tap the three-dotted menu at the top right.
3. From the menu, select Settings.
4. Scroll down and choose Media-auto download.
5. Now, tick the media I want an automatic downloading for. When you make changes, they are automatically saved without needing to click a save button. You can reset the settings back to the default by using the reset auto-download setting.
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