Transfer WhatsApp photos and videos from Android to Mac

Updated October 24, 2026

WhatsApp keeps every photo, video, voice note and document you receive in a folder on the phone. You can copy that folder to your Mac in one go, instead of forwarding files to yourself one by one.

Where WhatsApp media is on Android

On Android 11 and later: Internal storage › Android › media › com.whatsapp › WhatsApp › Media. On older phones: Internal storage › WhatsApp › Media.

WhatsApp Images: photos
WhatsApp Video: videos
WhatsApp Voice Notes: voice messages
WhatsApp Documents: PDFs and other files
WhatsApp Business uses com.whatsapp.w4b instead of com.whatsapp.

Copy it to the Mac

Connect the phone by USB, unlock it and choose “File transfer”.
In PhoneFerry, switch to the full file view and open the Media folder above.
Select the folders you need, for example WhatsApp Images and WhatsApp Video, and copy them to a folder on your Mac.

Good to know

Media you deleted in WhatsApp may already be gone from this folder.
Chat text is not in these folders. Use WhatsApp's own chat export or backup for messages.
Copying does not remove anything from the phone.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I see the WhatsApp folder?

On Android 11 and later it moved to Android › media › com.whatsapp. Look there instead of the top level.

Are the photos compressed?

Photos you received were already compressed by WhatsApp when they were sent. Copying them to the Mac does not compress them again.

Can I copy WhatsApp chats this way?

No, only media files. Messages are in WhatsApp's encrypted database; use WhatsApp's export feature.