Once you disable the option of Save to Camera Roll in WhatsApp on your iPhone, it will stop auto-saving images in your photos app. But later on, when you find some photos are worth storing, what will you do? Just stick to your decision of clutter-free Photos app and save your iPhone storage for long-term usage. Let us run you through a quick step-guide of how to manually save WhatsApp photos to iPhone camera roll!
- Give WhatsApp Permission to Access Photos App
- How to Manually Save WhatsApp Photos to iPhone Camera Roll
Give WhatsApp Permission to Access Photos App
- Open Settings app on your iPhone
- Scroll down and go into the Privacy section.
- Tap Photos.
- Scroll down and select WhatsApp.
- Pick Read and Write.
When you select Read and Write, now it has access to your photo library, and you’ll be able to save photos to Camera Roll.
Note: If you’ve updated your iPhone to the latest iOS 14 beta or later version, WhatsApp settings vary, and you’ll have to select All Photos from the available options in the same privacy settings.

How to Manually Save WhatsApp Photos to iPhone Camera Roll
- Launch WhatsApp and go into a chat in which images are shared with you.
- Long press the image you’d like to save.
- Tap Save.
The image is saved in the Photos app. If your iPhone doesn’t support long-press touch, you can opt for another way.
- Open the image you’d like to save.
- Tap the Share option from the left bottom corner.
- Select Save from the options.
Wrap Up
Saving photos from WhatsApp to your iPhone Camera Roll manually is really quite simple. All you just need to do is give WhatsApp access to the Photos app and save the image you want. When you can save photos with these simple steps, why would you turn on auto-save that would drain plenty of storage space on your iPhone? What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below!
Also, if you love using WhatsApp, you must check out these quick links that will spruce up the user experience!
- Clear WhatsApp Data Storage on iPhone
- How to Write Bold, Italic, Strikethrough in WhatsApp
- How to Use WhatsApp on Apple Watch
- React to WhatsApp Messages with Emoji on iPhone, Android, and web
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The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.