Whatsapp folder on the phone – can it be deleted or cleared?
We tell you what is stored in the WhatsApp folder on your phone, why it is needed, and what can be deleted to free up memory.
Many smartphone users are aware of how much the WhatsApp folder can clog up the phone’s memory. This is especially acute on mobile devices with a small amount of memory.
Why do you need a WhatsApp folder on your smartphone?
The WhatsApp folder on the phone contains all the data that the user receives through the messenger. Since the application automatically downloads all images, video files and documents from chats, the phone’s memory becomes heavily clogged with unnecessary pictures and videos over time. You can turn off automatic downloads in the settings, but if the memory is already full, you need to free it manually.
To clear the memory, it is not recommended to delete the WhatsApp folder as it contains important data. Only some subfolders inside the WhatsApp folder need to be deleted. Below are descriptions of all the folders inside WhatsApp and what data they contain.
Whatsapp Media Folder
The Media folder contains all the media files that have been sent or received using WhatsApp. Let’s take a closer look at each of the subfolders in the Media folder.
WhatsApp Voice Notes
This folder contains all voice messages that have been received or sent. Even if the message has not been heard, it will be stored in the Voice Notes folder. This folder can be deleted, but in order to avoid problems with the messenger, it is recommended to go into the folder and delete its contents one by one. Before deleting, voice messages can be listened to through any built-in or installed on the phone player.
Whatsapp images
The Images folder contains all images, photos and pictures sent and received via WhatsApp. You can delete the contents of the folder, however, if you do not turn off automatic saving of files in the application settings, over time the folder will begin to fill up with sent images again.
Whatsapp video
A folder that contains videos sent via WhatsApp. Since the messenger saves all received videos, this folder in most cases can weigh several gigabytes. Its contents can be deleted, thereby freeing up a significant amount of space in the phone’s memory.
Whatsapp audio
The folder contains received audio files (for example, songs) and some voice messages. Therefore, before deleting content, it is recommended to listen to the recordings and make sure that important information is not stored on them.
WhatsApp Documents
This folder contains files sent via WhatsApp. These may include text documents, presentations, Word files, Excel files, some .mp3 files, program installers, and others. The user can delete the contents of this folder to free up phone memory.
Wallpaper
This folder contains pictures or photos that are used as wallpaper in the chat. For example, the user selects an image and puts it on the wallpaper, and then this image appears in the WallPaper folder. The contents of the folder can be deleted, the wallpaper in the chat will not disappear after that.
WhatsApp Animated Gifs/Stickers
Folders contain sent GIFs and stickers from all chats in the messenger. You can delete the contents of a folder, but they usually don’t take up too much space on your device.
Whatsapp profile photos
It stores profile pictures of interlocutors. If the user opened someone’s profile photo in full screen mode, then it can be stored in this folder.
Whatsapp sent
Folders with this name store files (images, voice messages, videos) sent by the user himself. Even those files that have been removed from the gallery can be stored there. You can delete the contents of the folder, but it is recommended to leave the folder itself to avoid problems with the messenger.
Whatsapp private
This is a private folder that can be found in Images, Video, and other Media sections. If you turn off media visibility in any messenger chat, then all files that will be received through the chat will be sent to the Private folder. Its essence lies in the fact that this data is not displayed in the gallery and can only be viewed in the file manager. If the WhatsApp Private folder does not contain anything important, you can delete its contents.
WhatsApp Databases folder
It contains backup copies of chats, which include not only the correspondence itself, but also various files (photos, audio files, video files, etc.). In case the user wants to restore some chat, he will need the data of this folder. If you delete it, all backups will be deleted along with it, which means that if your phone breaks or is lost, WhatsApp chats cannot be restored. Also, deleting this folder won’t free up much space, as its contents are only a few megabytes in total.
WhatsApp Shared
This folder contains files that could not be sent via the messenger, for example, due to problems with the Internet connection. Even if the user deleted the unsuccessfully sent file in WhatsApp, it remained in the Shared folder. Folder contents can be safely deleted if they take up too much memory.
Whatsapp trash
This folder is not always present, but if it is, then it stores encrypted information about files deleted from the messenger. You can delete it, and if necessary, WhatsApp will re-create it automatically.
Whatsapp backups
This is a small folder that contains backups of chat settings and some other data. Since it may contain important data and occupies a small part of the phone’s memory (less than a megabyte), it is not recommended to delete it.
Whatsapp Calls
For most, this folder is empty or completely absent. However, if you use a third-party WhatsApp call recording app, call data may appear in this folder. You can delete its contents, but it is better to leave the folder itself.