Forum Replies Created
Correct. Clearing app data removes the app’s internal storage footprint.
WhatsApp stores media in specific folders. When you cleared data, the app removed references and likely deleted associated folders.
That’s logical deletion, not encryption or hardware damage. Recovery depends on whether those storage blocks were reused.
Important distinction: reinstalling WhatsApp doesn’t bring that media back unless backup had it.
Thanks for replying, both of you.
I’ve stopped using the phone except to read this thread. No new apps, no downloads. I’m honestly kicking myself because I didn’t even realize “clear data” would wipe files too.
So this isn’t just a WhatsApp issue, it’s storage-level deletion?
I did the exact same thing last year, so I feel your pain.
In my case, chat history didn’t come back because backup was old, but a chunk of media files were still recoverable. Not everything though.
What hurt me was continuing to use the phone for two days thinking I’d “figure it out later”. That probably overwrote a lot.
Yeah, clearing app data is very different from clearing cache. Cache is temporary junk, app data wipes the local database.
WhatsApp media is tricky though. Messages rely on backups, but photos and videos are often stored locally too. If those folders were deleted and haven’t been overwritten, there might still be a chance.
First thing I’d suggest is stop using the phone as much as possible.
I think I messed up pretty badly and hoping someone here has been through this.
My phone was running slow, so I went into Settings → Apps → WhatsApp → Storage. I meant to clear cache, but I’m pretty sure I tapped “clear storage/data” instead. The app logged me out instantly.
After setting WhatsApp back up, all my old photos and videos are gone from chats. Some recent ones are there, but most of my older media folders are missing from gallery too.
They’re not in trash. Google Photos doesn’t show them either. I didn’t do a factory reset or anything, just this one mistake.
Is this kind of data loss permanent or is there still a chance to recover media files?
Final recommendation for customer response:
Explain SSD TRIM behavior clearly
Clarify this is not software failure
Advise maintaining backups moving forward
No further write attempts on SSD
Technically, this case falls under physical block clearing, not repairable corruption.
Correct.
Repair tools can fix:
Broken JPEG markers
Corrupt quantization tables
Header inconsistencies
They cannot recreate overwritten scan data.
Given NVMe + TRIM + delay before recovery, this is likely permanent data loss
Yes..after certain offset, large blocks of 00.
So I assume repair software won’t help?
Also worth checking:
Are recovered files full of 00 values after a certain offset? That’s common in TRIM scenarios.
If so, no repair tool can reconstruct missing pixel data.
Not necessarily.
JPEG header (SOI marker + metadata) is stored at beginning of file. If only the first clusters survived, header can look valid while image body (scan data) is gone.
A valid header alone doesn’t mean recoverable image data exists.
Some files show valid JPEG headers when opened in hex editor. Does that improve chances?
Agree with @Silas.
If thumbnails load but full images fail, two possibilities:
Thumbnail cache in Windows (not from recovered file)
Partial header data survived, but image scan data is zero-filled
If large portions are gray or unreadable, that’s consistent with TRIM-cleared sectors.
That timing is important.
On SSDs with TRIM enabled (default in Windows 10/11), deleted blocks are marked and typically cleared by the controller fairly quickly.
If recovery happened hours later, chances are the underlying data pages were already zeroed.
Yes, confirmed internal NVMe SSD.
System had been running normally for a few hours after deletion before recovery attempt.
Adding to what Silas said.
Don’t try random “fixes” or cleaner apps now. I’ve seen people make it worse by trying to optimize storage again.
If you’re going to attempt recovery, do it from a computer. Installing recovery apps directly on the phone writes data to the same storage you’re trying to recover from.