When messaging in apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and others, you can often tap to save photos, videos, GIFs, and other media that are sent to you. This saves them to the chat or conversation where they were originally sent. But it does not automatically save them to your camera roll or photos app.
What does “saved in chat” mean?
When you tap to save something in a messaging app chat or conversation, it is saved locally on your device, linked to that specific chat. This allows you to easily access it again within the chat without having to scroll back through the history to find it.
Media “saved in chat” is saved in the app’s local storage or cache. It is specifically linked to that conversation and accessible from that conversation’s history.
Some messaging apps may have a “saved” section or album within the app to easily access all media you’ve saved in various chats. But fundamentally, “saved in chat” means it is saved locally to that conversation only.
Does saving in chat also save to camera roll?
No, saving media in a chat or conversation does not automatically save it to your camera roll or native photos app. The camera roll is a separate system library for all your device’s photos and videos.
When you save something in chat, it is accessible from that chat but not grouped with your main photo library or albums. It exists only within the messaging app.
You will need to separately save it to your camera roll if you want it to appear with all your other photos and be accessible outside the messaging app.
How to save chat media to camera roll
If you want to save something from a chat to your main photo library and camera roll, you will need to use your messaging app’s share function.
Steps to save from chat to camera roll:
- Open the chat that contains the media you want to save.
- Tap and hold on the photo, video, or GIF to bring up options.
- Look for a Share button or icon and tap it.
- In the share menu, choose Save to Photos, Save to Camera Roll, or a similar option.
This will copy the media from the chat and add it to your photo library and camera roll. Now it will appear with the rest of your photos and videos and be accessible even when you leave the messaging app.
Advantages of saving chat media to camera roll
There are a few key advantages to saving important media from chats to your main camera roll:
- Accessible in your photo gallery app, not just the messaging app
- Backed up with the rest of your photos if you use cloud backup services
- Can edit, share, or delete like any other photos
- Will remain if you delete the chat history or messaging app
The camera roll gives you more control and ownership over the media vs just saving it in the chat. The chat history can be deleted, but the camera roll persists.
Disadvantages of saving to camera roll
There are a couple potential downsides to saving chat media to the camera roll:
- Takes up device storage space like regular photos and videos
- Can’t easily tell where the media originally came from
- May show up in photo albums, slideshows, etc. if you don’t want it to
If you don’t need permanent access to the media outside the chat, it’s often better left saved just in the messaging app to avoid cluttering up your camera roll.
Other chat media management options
In addition to saving in chat or saving to the camera roll, some messaging apps give other options for managing media, such as:
- Create albums/collections – Group saved media into albums inside the app.
- Forward to others – Share saved media into new chats without having to save to camera roll first.
- Delete from chat – Remove saved media from the conversation if no longer needed.
- Archive chats – Clear a conversation from the main view while retaining its saved media.
Explore your messaging app’s options to find more ways to organize and manage the media you want to keep accessible.
Does saving GIFs work the same way?
Yes, the process for saving GIFs in chat is the same as saving photos or videos.
When you tap to save a GIF in messaging apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, etc. it is saved locally in that specific conversation.
To also save GIFs to your camera roll or photo library, use the share function in your messaging app and select the Save to Photos or Camera Roll option.
GIFs saved to the camera roll can then be accessed or backed up like regular photos. Saved in chat, they exist only in that conversation.
Can you save messages or text the same way?
Most messaging apps do not have an option to “save” specific text messages the way you can save media.
Your chat history for a conversation normally persists unless you intentionally delete it or your account is deleted.
If you need to preserve specific text conversations more permanently, you can:
- Screenshot messages and save the image to your camera roll
- Copy and paste messages into a note or document
- Use a third party app to export chat history
But there is no common “save message” feature like there is for saving media in chats for most mainstream messaging apps.
Does Facebook Messenger work the same way?
Yes, Facebook Messenger works similarly in terms of saving media in chats vs saving to your camera roll.
When you tap to save a photo, video, or GIF sent in Messenger it is saved in that conversation’s history.
To also save it to your device’s camera roll or photo gallery, tap on the media and select the Save Photo or Save Video options.
Messenger does have a Saved section where you can access media saved across all chats in the app. But it is still separate from your camera roll.
As with other messaging apps, saving to the camera roll lets you access, edit, and manage the media outside Messenger as well.
Is it different on WhatsApp?
WhatsApp’s media saving process works the same way as most other messaging apps.
Tapping to save a photo, video, GIF, or other media in a WhatsApp conversation saves it locally to that specific chat.
To additionally save it to your device’s camera roll, tap and hold the media then select the Save to Photos option.
WhatsApp also has a Saved Messages section where you can access media you’ve saved across various chats in the app.
But it is still isolated from your camera roll. Only media explicitly saved to photos will appear there and be accessible outside WhatsApp.
And how about on Signal or Telegram?
Signal and Telegram also follow this same pattern for saving chat media.
Tapping to save photos, videos, etc. in a conversation saves them locally to just that chat.
To save them to your camera roll, long press on the media and then select the Save or Export option.
Both Signal and Telegram have distinct Saved Messages sections to access media across chats.
But it remains in a separate silo vs your camera roll photos unless explicitly saved there.
How to bulk save all media from a chat
If you want to bulk save all the media from a chat to your camera roll, rather than saving items one by one, you have a couple options:
- Use a third party chat backup tool to export and save all media from the conversation.
- Manually go through the chat and save each item individually.
- Take screenshots of all messages containing media.
Most messaging apps don’t have a built-in “save all” option for media in chats. So a manual process or third party app is required.
What gets backed up from chats?
For most messaging apps, your conversations and chat history are automatically included in any local iOS or Android device backups.
However, for media you’ve saved in chats, it varies whether they get backed up or not:
- iCloud – Saves chat history but not saved media.
- Google Drive – Saves chat history and media saved to Android camera roll but not media just saved in chats.
- iTunes – Backs up both chat history and locally saved media.
So if you want your saved chat media included in backups, saving to your camera roll is highly recommended.
Conclusion
Saving media in a messaging app chat is isolated from your camera roll and photo library. It makes the media accessible within that specific conversation but not grouped with your general photos.
To also save chat media to your camera roll, you need to use the share function in your messaging app and specifically select to save or export to your photo gallery or camera roll.
This provides wider access and backing up of important media from chats. But saving everything to your camera roll can also clutter your photo library.
Most messaging apps give you options to manage media either in saved chat silos or your camera roll based on what’s most convenient.