When analyzing your Storage on your phone, you might have encountered a case of misc files. The .misc files refer to the miscellaneous files; each phone has these files representing different applications.
You may get stranded when you come across these files and don’t know what they mean. However, we will help you by discussing WhatsApp miscellaneous files in detail.
Each application has different categories of files. For instance, WhatsApp has files, such as images or text files, and each is categorized in its respective category. However, any files that don’t fit in any available categories are called miscellaneous files and will have a .misc extension, meaning they are the odd ones out. Many miscellaneous files are media files shared on WhatsApp and could contain crucial data that you may not want to lose.
We will begin by understanding misc files. We will detail everything about these WhatsApp files and where you can access them on your phone. Moreover, we will discuss whether deleting these miscellaneous files and the various frequently asked questions is safe.
What Are WhatsApp Miscellaneous Files?
Different files will be stored on your phone when you download and install WhatsApp to ensure smooth running. When you receive new files, such as media files from friends, WhatsApp categorizes each file depending on its type and format.
However, not all files fit in the available file types. When it encounters files that don’t fit in any available categories, the files will be moved to the miscellaneous files and have a .misc extension to signal that they are miscellaneous files.
When accessing the storage location on your phone, you will find a category for miscellaneous files. Opening this folder will display the various applications on your phone; in each application, you will find its miscellaneous files.
WhatsApp miscellaneous files are also available on your phone’s internal storage in the “Misc” folder. Miscellaneous files consume a lot of space on different devices, and many people often get the thought of deleting them. We will discuss whether getting rid of your WhatsApp miscellaneous files is safe.
Where Are WhatsApp Miscellaneous Files?
When using WhatsApp, you may get curious to know where its miscellaneous files are stored on your phone. If so, you can find your miscellaneous files in your phone’s “Misc” or “Other” folder. Android categorizes miscellaneous files based on the application associated with them.
To access your WhatsApp miscellaneous files, follow the steps below.
- Open the Settings app on your phone.
- Locate the option for “Storage” and tap on it.
- Scroll down and tap on Misc to open the folder.
- Once it opens, you will find WhatsApp listed on the list.
- You can see the size used by WhatsApp miscellaneous files and other applications.
That’s how you find the WhatsApp miscellaneous files to determine their size.
If you want to delete the WhatsApp miscellaneous files, click the checkbox next to WhatsApp to select it. Once you’ve selected it, click the “Delete“ button, and the WhatsApp misc files will be completely wiped out. Is it safe to delete these miscellaneous files?
This may not work for all Android devices. If so, you’ll need to use a third-party tool for locating and deleting miscellaneous files or navigate to the app’s “Storage usage” section and clear all the data.
Should You Delete the WhatsApp Miscellaneous File?
When cleaning your storage and finding that miscellaneous files take up the most space, you may wonder whether you should delete the miscellaneous files. As seen in the above section, accessing the miscellaneous files will highlight the miscellaneous files for all the apps in your phone storage, including WhatsApp.
Before you delete these miscellaneous files, understand they are significant in your WhatsApp. Although it is possible to delete the WhatsApp miscellaneous files, you risk losing your data when you delete them. Some miscellaneous files are media files shared on WhatsApp only that a match for them was not found.
Thus, when you delete miscellaneous files, you will delete your media files, which is undesirable.
Conclusion
WhatsApp miscellaneous files represent those that WhatsApp didn’t match in any category. Thus, they were moved to the misc folder. We’ve discussed miscellaneous files in detail and the steps for accessing them.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are files that were not categorized in any category. For instance, WhatsApp miscellaneous files are the WhatsApp files that don’t fit any category under your WhatsApp files.
Yes, and no. If you are sure you don’t need the files, you can delete them; however, if you are unsure of the data contained in these files and don’t want to risk losing your files or then don’t delete the miscellaneous files.
