Where are files deleted from WhatsApp on Android - briefly?
When you delete a file from WhatsApp on an Android device, it is not permanently erased but rather moved to the WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images or WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Video folders within your internal storage. To fully remove these files, you need to manually delete them from these directories.
Where are files deleted from WhatsApp on Android - in detail?
When you delete a file from WhatsApp on an Android device, it doesn't simply vanish into thin air. The process involves several steps and locations where the data resides temporarily before it is permanently erased.
Firstly, let's understand the storage mechanism of WhatsApp files on Android. By default, WhatsApp stores all media (photos, videos, documents) in a specific folder within your device's internal memory. This folder is typically located at:
/sdcard/WhatsApp/Media
Within this directory, you will find subfolders for different types of media such as WhatsApp Images, WhatsApp Videos, and WhatsApp Documents.
When you delete a file within the WhatsApp application, the app marks this file for deletion but does not immediately remove it from the device's storage. Instead, it moves the file to a temporary folder known as the "Trash" or "Recycle Bin." This is where files go when they are deleted from the user interface of WhatsApp. The path to this temporary folder is:
/sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/.Trash
Files in the Trash folder are not permanently deleted right away. They remain there for a certain period, allowing you to restore them if you change your mind. However, once this grace period expires or if you manually empty the Trash, the files are permanently removed from your device's storage.
It is important to note that even after files are moved to the Trash folder, they can still be recovered using specialized data recovery tools. These tools scan your device's memory for traces of deleted files and attempt to reconstruct them. However, this method is not foolproof and success depends on several factors including how much new data has been written to the same storage locations.
In summary, when you delete a file from WhatsApp on Android, it initially moves to a temporary Trash folder located at /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/.Trash. From there, it can be permanently deleted or potentially recovered using data recovery tools before it is finally removed from your device's storage.