If you can’t find your WhatsApp files in your phone’s memory, don’t worry this way you can access the app’s new multimedia folder.
If you are one of those who still make backups of WhatsApp manually, copying the files from the internal memory of your mobile to your computer; or you have tried to search for a file received by WhatsApp recently, you may have noticed that the WhatsApp multimedia files folder is no longer in the same path as before.
Several users have already noticed this change carried out by WhatsApp, which has a simple explanation. In any case, you should know that your files are safe and you can continue to access them. The only thing that has changed is the location of the folder.
Where to find the WhatsApp download folder on Android 10 and Android 11?
Until now, the WhatsApp downloads folder was located in the “root” of the device’s internal storage. This folder had the name “WhatsApp”, and it contained all sent and received documents, including images, videos, audios, and more.
But the path to that folder has changed with the arrival of the latest versions of Android, starting with Android 10. Now, the WhatsApp downloads folder is in the path Android / Media/com.WhatsApp / WhatsApp.
All the content that was in the previous folder remains intact, and the only change has been the path to access it.
What is the reason for this change?
The decision to change the path to access the WhatsApp downloads folder comes as a result of a new feature introduced in the most recent versions of Android, mainly in Android 11, called “Scoped Storage”.
This change implies, among other things, that apps will no longer be able to write to the root of the device’s storage unless strictly necessary, and for this, they will have to have Google’s permission.
Thus, applications such as WhatsApp will have a space in the Android / Media path where they can save their files, where only the application itself can write data.
