After launching its new channels feature in India, the Meta-owned popular instant messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature to control the automatic removal of channel media from your device. The channels feature not only allows users to send images but also enables channel owners to send links to information, as well as media such as photos and videos.
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“WhatsApp is also working on bringing a better user experience to channels by introducing new features aimed to enhance control over the media they receive. Thanks to the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.20.11 update, we discovered that WhatsApp is working on a feature to manage when automatically removing channel media from the device,” WABetaInfo reported.
As per the screenshot shared by a WABetaInfo, there will be a new section called “Channel Settings” where users can choose when images and videos shared within channels have to be automatically removed from the device.
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“At the moment, WhatsApp might not immediately delete channel media from the user device as the default option is ‘Never’, and this could cause users to unintentionally accumulate a significant amount of channel media on their devices over time, potentially leading to storage issues,” WABetaInfo said.
The screenshot also revealed a white top app bar inside the channel settings section, spotted with the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.18.18. This further confirms that the white top app bar will be available in any section of the app.
The report suggested that users will have greater control over how long this media remains on their device with the introduction of this feature, enhancing their overall experience.
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This means that users no longer need to manually manage their channel media to free up storage space on their devices, as there will be an automatic option in a future update. It’s important to note that deleted media will be downloaded once the user opens the channel again.
Additionally, it appears that this setting can be customised for each channel, allowing users to turn it off for one channel while keeping it on for another. The feature for controlling the automatic removal of channel media is currently in development and will be available in a future update of the app.
