WhatsApp developing chat media hub to make file management easier

WhatsApp is developing a chat media hub for its mobile and web clients that will manage all files — including shared images, videos, GIFs, documents, and link across every chat. It aims to simplify content browsing and storage management.

This feature is expected to be available with the future update.

The new update is designed to introduce a specific and dedicated section where group chat members can easily browse all recent media shared across their groups. The feature aims to display all media files in a single centralised location, allowing users to quickly access shared content without the need to search through individual group chats.

Furthermore, it also provides information about the size of media files, helping users to manage their device storage by identifying large files that may need to be deleted.

It will be available to both: mobile application and website. In the mobile, the user can only get media files of group chat while, in the WhatsApp website, the clients will not get media files of group chats but also of individual ones.

This new media hub will be accessible through a dedicated entry point located in the sidebar of the web client. Once a user clicks on it, the user will easily access all media files.

With the aim to accommodate the users for better experience, it will also show some additional details for documents and links such as name of the contact that shared the item, date when it was received or sent.

WhatsApp media hub will also have filter-based search system that allow the users to organise content by most recent, oldest or largest file first based on their preference.

Additionally, a multi-selection option will be provided to enable them to select multiple media files at once for actions such as deleting, downloading, or forwarding those files.

This centralised approach aims to streamline access to shared media across WhatsApp, helping users stay organised and quickly locate everything from memorable photos in family chats to important documents in work groups.