It’s frustrating to accidentally delete photos or videos on WhatsApp, particularly when pics and videos are important or sentimental. Luckily, if you’ve accidentally deleted your media files or they’re from a few years back, there are a number of ways to recover them. Fortunately, you can recall deleted WhatsApp photos and videos here’s how.
1. The easiest way to Restore WhatsApp Backup
WhatsApp’s automatic backup is one of the most powerful features, because it keeps your chats, photos and videos. Restoring a recent backup will bring it all back if you have accidentally deleted media. Be aware that this works only if backups were enabled before erasing this scheduled task.
Steps to restore your WhatsApp backup:
- Launch WhatsApp and tap on three dots in the top right.
- Head to Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
Make sure the date the last backup was performed and that it does include the deleted media. - Reinstall and uninstall WhatsApp.
WhatsApp will ask you to restore from a backup after you re-enter your phone number. Select Restore. - After that, your deleted photos should pop up in your gallery or inside of the chat that they were part of.
Note: Do not trigger a new backup until restoring or the deleted media may be lost forever.
2. See if your device’s file storage has enough space to fit his entire library
Despite no longer being present in WhatsApp, the deleted photos can still be found stored on your phone sometimes. It’s especially applicable if you didn’t check the “delete from gallery” when you removed the image from the chat.
To find the deleted photos on Android:
- In Google Files or your phone’s file manager app, open.
- Go to Internal storage > Android > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Images.
- Check every image to see if that picture you want hasn’t been removed.
If you happen to be an iPhone (or iOS) user, unfortunately you wouldn’t be able to access deleted WhatsApp photos, as above method is restricted within the system but you can change your WhatsApp settings with Save to Photos enabled and this problem would not occur.
3. Download the File from the chat again
WhatsApp may still have it if you deleted from your gallery but not from the chat. In this case, simply redownload the image:
- Go to that chat where you sent or received the image.
- Tap the image to download it again, and scroll until you see that image.
- The file will go back into your gallery.
This method works pretty well if the deletion was recent (usually within 24 hours) since WhatsApp servers only keep media for so long.
4. Simply Ask the Sender to Resend the Photos.
One of the easiest solutions? Have the person who sent or received the photo send it over again. If you sent it in a group chat or shared it with someone else they might still have it in their conversation or on their gallery. This is the fastest way to retrieve your media without going deep into the technical.
5. Advanced Option: File Recovery (Root Your Phone)
If all else fails and the photos are important, rooting your phone will give you deeper access to deleted files. That said, method comes with all sorts of risks, including voiding your warranty or completely screwing up your system. After rooting, you can recover deleted files from your device by using an app such as TrashDigger.
Steps to use TrashDigger:
- Download the TrashDigger app.
- Then, run a Deep Scan to find the deleted WhatsApp images.
- Choose the files you want to recover, and click start recovery.
Just remember that it takes time and skill to root your Android device, with the chance you’ll mess up. Before attempting this make sure you back up all your important files.
Conclusion
A number of ways exist to recover deleted WhatsApp pics and videos, ranging from restoring backups to internal storage to even asking help from the original sender. Some are quick and easy others such as rooting your phone should only be used by last resort. Following these tips will help you quickly and without much hassle to retrieve those lost memories.