WhatsApp Features You Might Not Know About
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world with over 1.5 billion users every month . However, many WhatsApp users - new and old - only know how to use its most basic functions. Believe it or not, there are tons of features on offer, all designed to make your chats more expressive than ever, and the app even easier to use.
Discover some of the best 'hidden' WhatsApp features below, for both iPhone and Android users.
Goodbye to Blue Ticks
If you're not familiar with the blue ticks on WhatsApp, they appear when you've read a message from a contact. Some people don't mind them, but a lot of users find them irritating.
If you'd like to turn this feature off, open Settings > Account > Privacy and disable Read Receipts. This works two ways though, so you won't be able to see when any of your messages have been read either.
Create a status story
Did you know that WhatsApp has stories, similar to Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram? They've been around since early 2017, and you can share snaps or videos of your day by heading to the Status screen and pressing the camera icon.
You can add text, emojis and draw on your story too, and it'll be visible for 24 hours.
Create a shortcut to your favourite chats
Sorry iPhone users, this one's an Android-only tip. A great time saver, anyone with an Android phone can create a shortcut on their home screen to a specific WhatsApp chat.
Whether it's your best friend or a group chat, the process is the same. Just visit the Chats screen, tap and hold on the conversation and select 'Add Conversation Shortcut'.
Hide your last seen
Don't want to share when you were last online with your contacts? Keep things private by changing your settings. Just follow the steps: Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen.
From here you'll be presented with three options. You can choose to show your active status to Everyone, My Contacts or Nobody. Tap Nobody to stop sharing.
Style Your Messages
Express yourself as you chat by adjusting the font in your chats. Edit the text and place certain words in bold, italicise a certain word, strikethrough a phrase or put something in m o n o s p a c e.
You can do this by selecting text, tapping 'BIU' and choosing your preferred option. It's great fun and helps to add a tone of voice to texts.
Star important messages
There's no need to waste time scrolling through past messages for the important stuff - whenever you're chatting about something you're going to need at a later date, you can star the message. To do this, press and hold on the message and tap Star (or the Star icon if you're on Android).
This way, all you’ll need to do in future is head to Settings > Starred Messages. Every starred message will be right there waiting for you.
Delete a message
Accidentally sent a message to the wrong person? Or having second thoughts over what you've just said?
If you get in there quick enough (within 7 minutes or less to be exact) you can delete the message - tap and hold, then select Delete.
Cut down on data
If you're into your gifs or love sending videos and photos to friends on WhatsApp, it can become a pretty data heavy app.
However, there is a way to cut down data usage when you're not connected to Wi-Fi. Open Settings, press Data and Storage usage and set everything to Wi-Fi only.
Send a Broadcast
Need to send the same message to multiple people, but want to avoid creating a huge group chat? You can do just that, thanks to WhatsApp's Broadcast List feature.
Simply type the message out once, choose who you'd like to contact and then each recipient will receive the message in a separate chat. The process is simple, but it differs slightly for iPhone and Android users.
To send a broadcast on an iPhone, simply:
- Open the Chats screen
- Press Broadcast Lists
- Tap New List
- Select your recipients (you can choose up to 256 people)
- Press Create
- Type your message, and send as usual
Android users can create a broadcast by following these steps:
- Open the Chats screen
- Tap the Menu Button
- Press New broadcast
- Tap +
- Add recipients
- Press Create
- Type your message and send
Whether you're new to WhatsApp or you're already well versed in the messaging service, make sure you have an amazing smartphone to enjoy all its latest features on. Discover great deals on the latest Android devices and iPhone handsets today at Mobiles.co.uk.