WhatsApp It has added many new features over the past few months. These include some as interesting as the possibility of hide media content from the gallery. We'll show you how to do it for a specific contact and also how to manage your photos and videos more effectively to gain more. privacy and in Retrench of space on your mobile.
WhatsApp news: more and better
Throughout the last few months, WhatsApp It has demonstrated a remarkable effort to stand out as one of the best messaging applications, not only because of its large number of daily users, but also because privacy-oriented features that demonstrate an interest in competing head-to-head against applications that have historically been considered more innovative, such as Telegram.
In practice, this means there are more and more options for control what is seen and what is not seen Outside the app: from restricted chats, disappearing messages or one-time-view messages, to specific settings to decide whether the photos and videos from each chat whether or not they appear in the phone's gallery.
Thus, for example, over the last few months we have seen how the stickers Features have been added to the application; how a system for re-downloading multimedia content has been implemented; how groups have been enabled in which only administrators can speak; and, what concerns us today, the possibility of hide images from the gallery. This option can be combined with other privacy settings, such as the temporary messages to restricted chats, to have much finer control over your personal information.
We'll show you how to do the latter. only for specific contacts instead of at a general level for the entire application, and we'll also see how to configure the visibility of media files globally, how to restrict chats, and what other tricks you can apply so that no one can see in your gallery what I shouldn't see.
How to hide images of a WhatsApp contact from the gallery
The trick we're about to tell you will valid for both specific contacts and groupsNo matter the type of conversation, it works the same way. This option is perfect if you're in groups where a lot is shared. memes, GIFs or videos that you don't want mixed in with your photos, or if you share more images private or sensitive with a specific person.
And how does it work? Simply open the conversation you want to hide files from and click on the name to access the conversation settings menu. In the case of groups, you must tap on the group name at the top of the screen to access your information.
Once inside, look for the option called Media file visibility and press it. They will appear to you three options Clearly differentiated: Default (which follows your general WhatsApp settings), Yes, and No. These options mean the following:
- YesThe photos and videos from that chat were you will see it in the gallery and in other photo apps.
- No: the photos and videos from that chat they will not show not in the gallery or in other applications, only within WhatsApp.
- PredeterminedThe chat will use the general configuration that you have selected for the entire application.
Choose the option No And that's it, the images from that conversation will be hidden from your gallery. From that moment on, media files you receive in that chat will no longer appear in apps like Gallery, Google Photos, or third-party image viewers, improving your experience. privacy from prying eyes.
With this trick You can have the option to see everything enabled but hide some specific conversations.It also works in reverse: if you have "No" enabled generally, follow these steps to enable "Yes" in a specific conversation so that only images from that chat are displayed.
Configure the visibility of media files at a general level
In addition to adjusting chat by chat, WhatsApp allows you to decide globally whether all photos and videos The images you receive are either saved to your phone's gallery or not. This option is very useful if you want to prevent your gallery from filling up with images. images that don't interest you Or if you prefer to have extra privacy without having to go conversation by conversation.
The general adjustment is located in WhatsApp settings, within the section CatYou must find and select or deselect the option called Show media files in galleryWhen enabled, everything you download from WhatsApp is saved in the app's usual folders and appears in the gallery; when disabled, new files are moved to an internal folder of type Private and they stop mixing with your camera photos.
On many mobile phones, disabling this option means the files will no longer be displayed in the classic folder. Whatsapp image accessible from the gallery, but they are still available from the chat itself or through a This allows you to maintain access to all content without it being visible to anyone who opens your photo app.
It is important to note that this change usually applies to the images and videos that you receive from that moment onFiles that were already saved in the gallery before the setting was changed may still be visible, so it's a good idea to check and, if you wish, delete or move manually old photos that you don't want to leave on display.
Temporary, one-time-view messages for greater privacy
If, in addition to hiding photos from your gallery, you want to prevent the content from remaining indefinitely in your chats, WhatsApp offers two additional and very interesting features: temporary messages and single-view messages.
With disappearing messages you can configure everything sent in a chat (text, photos, videos, voice notes, etc.) to be temporary. disappear automatically After some time, you'll find the option within the chat information. Temporary messageswhere you can choose from several timeframes, such as 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days. This reduces the number of messages and files that remain stored and makes it harder for someone to access them. reviewing old conversations.
On the other hand, one-time messages apply to photos and videos that you want only the other person to be able to see. onceWhen attaching an image or video, you can activate the icon with the number 1. The file is sent in such a way that, once opened, It cannot be played again from that chat and is not easily accessible in the recipient's gallery, which adds an extra layer of confidentiality.
By combining these features with the option to hide images in the gallery via chat, you'll have very complete control over what is stored, what is displayed, and for how long.
Restrict chats and other measures to protect your conversations
Privacy isn't limited to just the images in your gallery. WhatsApp also includes options like... restricted or blocked chatsdesigned to hide particularly sensitive conversations from the main chat list and protect them with a code or biometrics different from the general mobile lock.
By restricting a chat, it moves to a specific section accessible only after entering a password. secret codeYou can use your fingerprint or facial recognition, depending on your active security method. You can find the section within WhatsApp's privacy settings. restricted chats and there create or modify that code.
Additionally, on some mobile phones and versions of the app, it is possible to activate an option to hide restricted chats from the general list, so that no one can even see that they exist. This function is completely reversible, and you can make any conversation visible again by repeating the process in reverse.
If you combine a restricted chat with the option to Visibility of multimedia files in NoYou will ensure that neither the chat nor your photos and videos appear in plain sight, even if another person has occasional access to your phone.
By applying these functions step by step, you can precisely decide which WhatsApp images and videos are saved to the gallery, which remain only within the app, and which conversations deserve additional protection, achieving a very comfortable balance between privacy, organization and space saving on your device.
