If you have problems with viewing WhatsApp images there are different solutions: here’s what you need to do
Every day we send and receive dozens of images and videos on WhatsApp. The messaging application is a great tool to quickly share photos taken during work days, birthday parties, but also simple selfie or GIF. Photos that, once downloaded, can be viewed in the smartphone’s Gallery app. Or at least they should be.
In some circumstances, it happens that images downloaded from WhatsApp do not show up in the Gallery app or any other photo management application you use. What to do in such cases? There are several solutions and experiments, different depending on the smartphone you have. In fact, the management of images downloaded from WhatsApp is different between Android and iOS. Here’s what to do if you can’t see the images downloaded from WhatsApp in the gallery,
Restart your smartphone
The oldest method in the world is also the one that guarantees the best results. If you can no longer see the photos you downloaded from WhatsApp in the Gallery app, try turning your smartphone off and on again.
Android Smartphone: Enable “Media Visibility”
Few people are aware of this, but the Android version of WhatsApp handles downloaded media differently than iOS. If you can’t see the images you downloaded on WhatsApp on your Google, Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung or OnePlus smartphone (just to name a few brands that use Android) you have to very simply enable “Media Visibility” in the app’s settings.
How to do it? Very simple: you have to enter WhatsApp, click on Settings and then Chat. In the tab that opens, enable “Media Visibility”. What is the purpose of this option? To show recently downloaded media in the phone’s gallery.
WhatsApp allows you to set “Media Visibility” even per single conversation. By entering a chat and clicking on the three dots in the top right corner, a pop-up menu will appear where you can select “Show Contact”. A tab with several items will open: select “Media Visibility” and the menu “Show recently downloaded media from this chat in phone gallery” will appear on the screen with three options: Default (Yes); Yes and No. If you select one of the first two options, the images will return to appear in the Gallery of your smartphone.
Cleaning WhatsApp cache on Android
In some cases, WhatsApp’s cache is to blame. In order to make the images downloaded from the application visible again, you need to clean it. The procedure to follow is very simple: after entering the Settings of your smartphone, you have to select the “Apps and notifications” item and then “Show all apps”. It will open the list with all the apps installed on your smartphone and you have to scroll through it until you find WhatsApp. Once selected you have to press on “Storage space and cache” and then on “Empty cache”. This should solve the problem of photos downloaded from WhatsApp.
iPhone, enable “Save to Camera Roll”
As mentioned, on the iPhone the management of WhatsApp images is different. By default, no photos are shown in the smartphone’s Gallery app. To do this, you need to activate an ad hoc feature. How to do it? You have to open WhatsApp, press on Settings, then on Chat and enable “Save to Camera Roll”. From now on, any image you receive and download to the app will be visible in the Gallery app.
Update WhatsApp
The problem may also depend on the version of WhatsApp you are using. If none of the previous solutions worked, try to see if there is a new version of the app on the Google Play Store or App Store. If so, install it immediately.
Uninstall and re-install WhatsApp
The last solution is the most drastic one: delete WhatsApp and install it again. Before proceeding, remember to back up the application so that you don’t lose any messages and multimedia content you received in the last few weeks.