5 Ways to Fix Telegram Not Saving Images to Gallery

Telegram has continued to rise in popularity ever since the WhatsApp privacy policy debacle last year. If you just made the switch to Telegram, you might have noticed that the media files you receive through Telegram while chatting won’t automatically be saved to your phone’s gallery app. If you’re also affected by this issue, which seems to be quite widespread, follow us in this article as we detail some methods that could potentially correct the problem.

Also read:9 of the Best Video Call Apps for Mobile Users

1. Enable “Save to Gallery”

In Telegram, the option to automatically save incoming photos and videos needs to be activated manually from the app. If you have an Android phone, these are steps you need to take in order to ensure the media shared during conversations is automatically saved to your gallery.

1. Open the Telegram app on your device.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu in the upper left corner of the display.

3. Select Settings.

4. Tap on “Chat Settings”.

5. Scroll all the way to the bottom until you find the “Save to Gallery” option and toggle it on.

Now Telegram should automatically start saving the photos and videos you’ve received directly to your gallery. Curiously, the feature appears to work on some phones, but not others. On our devices running Android 11 and Android 12, activating this feature had no effect on whether Telegram saved the photos to Gallery. This happened regardless of whether we downloaded the app from the Play Store or used the official Telegram apk. On the other hand, on an older Samsung device running Android 7.0, the option worked just fine.

Also read:How to Set and Create Animated Backgrounds in Telegram

On iOS the same option is called “Save Incoming photos”. This is how you can activate it on your device.

1. Open the Telegram app on your iPhone.
2. Go to Setting.

3. Then tap on “Data and Storage”.

4. Scroll down until you find the “Save Incoming Photos” options and press on it.

5. Enable the option for Contacts, Other Private Chats, Group Chats or Channels.

Now the media you receive while chatting in Telegram should be automatically saved to your iPhone’s gallery.

Also read:How to Set Up Passcode Lock in Telegram

2. Grant Storage Permission

Another thing you want to try is to make sure your Telegram app has storage permission. Depending on what version of Android is running on your phone you might have to grant “Files and Media” permission instead.

1. Find the Telegram app on your phone and long press on the icon.
2. Tap on the Info or App Info button that pops up.

3. Select Permissions.

4. Now if you’re running an older version of Android (the device in the screenshots is running Android 7.0) you will need to tap on Storage to enable the option.

5. Alternatively, if you’re running Android 11 or 12, you should see the “Files and media” option.

6. Tap on it and check to see if the “Allow access to media only” feature is on. If it’s not activate it.

Also read:How to Make a Group Video Call on Mobile Using the Most Popular Apps

3. Save Photos and Other Media Manually

If you tried the methods described above, and nothing happened then another solution might be to simply manually save the photos or videos from the app. This is how you can do it if you own an Android device.

1. Open up a chat that contains a media file you want to save.
2. Tap on it to open it.
3. Tap on the three-dots in the upper right corner of the display.

4. Select “Save to Gallery”.

Now go to your phone’s Gallery, you should be able to see the picture there.

On Android, this option can sometime malfunction. If you’re having issues seeing your received photos and videos in the Gallery, try updating the app or installing the apk from the Telegram official website.

Also read:How to Create Chat Folders in Telegram

On iOS here’s how you can manually save images.

1. Open a chat that contains a media file you wish to save to your gallery.
2. Tap on the file.
3. Now press on the little forwarding icon in the lower left corner.

4. Select the “Save Image” option at the bottom. Telegram will ask permission to access Photos and once you’ve granted it, the image will show up in your gallery.

Also read:How to Send Disappearing Messages in Popular Chat Apps

4. Enable Auto-Download Media

If you’re constantly switching between your Wi-Fi and data, you need to activate the “Enable auto-download media” option to make sure a photo or video doesn’t slip through the cracks when you’re using your mobile data, for example.

1. Open the Telegram app on your phone.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.

3. Select Settings.

4. Press on “Data and Storage”.

5. Toggle on the “When using mobile data” option if it’s not enabled. The “When connected on Wi-Fi” featured should be on, but if it’s not make sure to activate it as well.

Also read:WhatsApp vs. Signal vs. Telegram: Which One Should You Use?

5. Update the App

If photos and videos aren’t showing up in your gallery it might be because your app needs to be updated. Go to the Google Play Store, search for the app and see if you can spot an Update button underneath.

If it’s not there and it simply says Open then it means that the app is running the latest version that is available for your region.

If the problem continues to persist, keep your eyes out for updates. The issue has been reported numerous times in places like Telegram Bugs, so a fix is probably incoming.

If you’re a Linux user then you will be glad to know you can install the desktop app on your system. In addition, you can check what other similar apps you can install on your Linux PC.

Also read:How to Import Your WhatsApp Chats into Telegram

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I get the most out of Telegram?

Bots can help! We have a handy list which includes 12 bots that can improve your Telegram experience manifold.

2. How can I protect my privacy in Telegram?

You can start by setting a passcode for your app. In addition, you can also make sure to enable two-factor authentication. Not sure how to do that? Read our tutorials on the matter.

3. How can I keep my Telegram organized?

You can organize your chats by creating chat folders in Telegram. If you don’t know where to start, go ahead and read our previous article dedicated to showing you how.