WhatsApp (WA) has a built-in feature to automatically download photo and video posts. So, the photos/videos can be saved in the cellphone gallery.
However, sometimes there are WA videos or photos that are not saved in the gallery. This problem is quite common, and often occurs to WA users on both Android and iPhone.
Reasons Why WhatsApp Photos Are Not Saved in Gallery
Reporting from the Airdroid Personal page, here are several factors that cause WA photos not to be saved in the gallery:
1. Privacy Settings
One of the reasons WA photos are not saved in the gallery is because users use the option to hide WA photos, for privacy reasons.
Privacy options may be activated by the user. So, users will not be able to directly see the WA media that has been downloaded in the cellphone gallery.
2. There is a Default Option that is Disabled
If the user disables the "Auto download media" feature in WhatsApp settings. Of course the media files will not be saved, so the photos/videos are not visible.
3. Internet connection
No internet connection or poor connection, will affect media downloading. The reason is, stable internet is needed to download photos and videos sent to WA.
4. Temporary Error on WhatsApp
WhatsApp itself also sometimes experiences errors or errors, so the system cannot save downloaded photos to your cellphone. You can try updating or restarting the app to fix this problem.
5. HP memory or storage is full
A common reason why WA photos do not appear in the next gallery is because storage space is not available. If there is not enough space available in the cellphone's memory, the media cannot be saved.
6. Corrupted SD Card (Android Users)
Downloading from WA also allows photos or videos from WA to be added to the SD card on your Android cellphone. Therefore, if the card is damaged or not working, WA photos will not be saved in the gallery.
How to solve WA photos not saved in gallery
Still from the same source, here are several ways to fix the problem of WA photos not being saved or not appearing in the gallery.
1. Restart the cellphone
A simple way to deal with WA photos not being saved in the gallery is to try restarting your cellphone (restart). After the cellphone restarts, check whether WA can save photos to the cellphone gallery or not.
2. Enable Auto Download Feature
Users can activate the auto-save feature. This will allow photos to be downloaded only via Wi-Fi (limiting it to cellular data) or vice versa.
Here are the steps to activate it for Android users:
Open WhatsApp
Click the three dots icon at the top
Select Settings
Click Storage and Data
Select the desired option under Auto download media
Steps for iPhone users:
Open WhatsApp
Select Settings > Chats > Save to Camera Roll
Activate the switch
3. Clear WhatsApp Cache
Often there is malware or bugs in the WhatsApp cache files. This includes the reasons why the WA photo folder does not appear in the gallery. Therefore, deleting the WhatsApp cache is an option to overcome this.
Deleting unwanted files will also improve cellphone performance, as well as increase storage space.
Here are the steps to clear WhatsApp cache on Android:
Go to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications
Click WhatsApp, then open storage and click "Clear data"
On iPhone, there is no direct way to delete WhatsApp cache files. Users can delete and reinstall applications from the App Store.
4. Update WhatsApp
Using an old version of WhatsApp is one of these problems, therefore update the WhatsApp application.
5. Delete Non-Existing Files
Another cause is the presence of a .nomedia file in WhatsApp storage. This file hides WhatsApp media in the cellphone gallery.
So, what you have to do is delete the .nomedia file on Android. Here's how:
Open File Manager
Click the three dots icon to open Settings
Enable the "Show hidden files" option
6. Create Storage Space
You need enough space on your cellphone so that WA can save incoming photos and videos. So, users need to delete unimportant media, apps, and documents to free up memory.
These are some of the reasons why WA photos are not saved in the gallery and how to overcome this. Hope it is useful.