Tired of WhatsApp messages eating into your phone storage? A simple fix could be on the way.
By default, WhatsApp will back up any messages, voice notes, photos, and documents sent within the messaging app to iCloud on iPhone or Google Drive on Android, usually daily. It's a handy feature that means you won't need to worry about losing any text messages if you lose or break your device.
However, if you're a prolific WhatsApp user, those backups can fill up your allowance fast, pushing you to subscribe to pricier and pricier cloud storage plans. On average, ensuring that everything on your device is backed up to the cloud costs anywhere from £1 – £10 per month.
WhatsApp offers some tools to make it easy to clear out extra storage, highlighting files that are over 5MB in size as well as those that you've forwarded multiple times across several conversations. But the vigilant team over at WABetaInfo spotted a clever new way to avoid dishing out extra iCloud or Google Drive cash every month.
In the latest beta release, WhatsApp is testing a new feature that lets users manage storage for each individual chat — directly from the info page of the conversation. That means you’ll be able to delete selected messages from specific conversations without having to bulk-delete entire chats, helping you keep the important ones intact while ensuring you're not paying a pricey monthly subscription to backup a message that you're fussed about.
The new WhatsApp "Manage Storage" option in settings displays all shared files in a grid format to make it easier to see which contet you want to delete
|To achieve this, WhatsApp looks set to add a new "Manage Storage" option that displays all shared files in a grid format. It's meant to sort everything by size, so you can instantly spot which photos, videos or documents are hogging the most space.
Instead of hunting through Settings menu, you'll be able to delete large files directly from the chat where they were shared, too. The tool shows you photos, videos and documents from your conversations, and you can sort them in different ways.
You'll be able to arrange files by when they were shared, using filters like "Newest," "Oldest," and "Largest."
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This makes it particularly handy for those group chats that constantly fill up with memes, festival videos or work documents.
The grid layout also gives you a clear visual overview of everything that's been shared, making storage management much more straightforward than before.
WhatsApp has over 3 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it the most popular messaging app globally.
| PAWhile WhatsApp already has storage management features, you currently have to navigate through Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage to see how much space your chats occupy. The existing Media, Links, and Docs tab in each chat's info page doesn't show file sizes either.
This new feature changes that by putting storage controls directly where you need them. You'll access everything from within the chat itself, without jumping through multiple menus. It appears to be a much more convenient approach that encourages you to keep your conversations tidy in real time, rather than waiting until your phone runs out of space completely.
WhatsApp is gradually expanding access to more testers, with a worldwide release potentially in the works later this year.
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