Control visibility of downloaded WhatsApp media in phone's gallery
WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature, called "Media Visibility," that gives users the option to either show or hide received media content in the gallery for each individual contact. Earlier, users could either allow media auto-download for all contacts or turn off the feature altogether. The beta update is live on WhatsApp Android version 2.18.194.
Difference between auto-download and media visibility
Disabling Media Visibility allows photos and videos to get auto-downloaded, but not show in the users' gallery. This way, you don't have to deal with a barrage of useless media content in your gallery, and neither do you have to manually download each media in the chat app. Media visibility can be customized for each chat, whether it is with an individual or group.
Choose chats you want media from in your phone's gallery
Here's how you can customize media visibility. Go to "Contact Info" on a personal chat and "Group Info" on a group chat. Tap "Media Visibility." On being asked if you want downloaded media to be shown in the gallery, choose between "yes," "no," and "default."
Media Visibility was first introduced a month ago
WhatsApp had first beta-rolled out the Media Visibility feature a month ago in Android version 2.18.159. But back then, the feature only allowed users to hide auto-downloaded media from their gallery for all contacts. So now the chat app has come with an improved version of the feature, with customization for every group and individual chat.
