Too many WhatsApp images, videos making your phone slow and full? Here is a fix

Here is how to stop WhatsApp from downloading annoying memes, videos, photos on phone. 

WhatsApp has over 1 billion daily active users today. The increasing popularity of the chat app has made it synonymous with messaging. SMS sounds old and obsolete now. These days SMS box is opened only to view OTPs, telecom's promotional messages, and your bank transaction details. WhatsApp has become an indispensable part of our lives. The app has made it fast and easier to stay connected with our friends.

However, it can be a little annoying at times when the chat app automatically downloads all those stupid memes, audio files, videos, and photos. This not just makes the phone's gallery look like a complete mess, it also eats up your mobile data. Here is a fix to this problem.

For Android phones:

If you are an Android user, open your WhatsApp, go to Settings>Data and storage usage>Media auto-download. Now uncheck all the three boxes under the Media auto-download- when using mobile data, when connected on Wifi and when roaming.

For iPhones:

iPhone users can also de-clutter their phone from annoying audio files, videos, and photos.  Open WhatsApp>Settings>Data and storage usage.

Now check the Never box for photos, videos, audio, and documents.

Low data usage for WhatsApp calls

WhatsApp also has an option to lower the amount of data it uses during WhatsApp voice calls. Open WhatsApp>Settings>Data and storage usage> Low data usage.

Few quick points to  save mobile data and phone storage when using WhatsApp:

-- Stop auto-download of heavy files. Videos are entertaining but hog a lot of space on your phone. You can always set the auto-download for such videos when on WiFi.

-- Allow chat back up but only on WiFi. WhatsApp stores all your text chats and images. While this is an important feature as it allows you to retrieve your photos later from Cloud, backing up on mobile data can eat up your mobile data. So try doing it only on WiFi.

-- WhatsApp has an option where you can view your contacts and how much space each is taking. Go to WhatsApp> Storage and data usage>Storage usage.

Now you will see all your recent chats along with the space each is consuming on your phone. Select the chat>Manage messages>Clear messages.