If you’re annoyed by images and videos from Messages appearing in the Photos app on iPhone and iPad, here’s how you can turn this feature off.
Photos App Showing You Images and Videos from the Messages App? You can Turn this Feature off on iPhone and iPad
So, it happened. Someone sent you an image or video in the Messages app. You looked at it, laughed it off, forgot about it. A few days later, you notice the image/video is casually chilling in the Photos app. You clearly remember not saving it. It’s okay, you’re right, you didn’t do anything. In fact, iOS and iPadOS did it for you. It’s a feature.
It’s one of those features that can end up populating your Photos app with unnecessary images and videos. If you like to turn this off completely and want to save whatever comes through the Messages app manually, here’s what you need to do on your iPhone and iPad.
Step 1. Launch the Settings app.
Step 2. Tap on ‘Messages.’
Step 3. Now tap on ‘Shared with You.’
Step 4. Find the ‘Photos’ switch and turn it off.
From now on, if anyone sends you an image or video in the Messages app, it won’t automatically show up in Photos. You’ve put an end to this charade once and for all.
I usually keep the feature turned on as I tend to forget saving photos and videos from the Messages app. Sure, it can get annoying at times, but hey, the convenience outweighs the inconvenience here.
You do have the option to turn off the ‘Shared with You’ feature completely. Just go to Settings > Messages > Shared with You and turn off the feature by tapping on the toggle switch next to ‘Automatic Sharing.’ If someone shares anything with you, a Safari link, a link to a podcast episode, anything at all, it won’t automatically show up in the relevant app.
In some cases you’ll notice turning this feature off actually makes your iPhone and iPad faster and may even end up saving you battery life. Just give it a shot, especially if you have an older iPhone or iPad model.
