20 Essential WhatsApp Tips for Chat Fans
The app has over 2 billion active users; here’s how to get chatting.
If you know about WhatsApp, you know. There are over 2 billion monthly users of the messaging app and yet most of the United States isn’t on it. For the rest of the world, though, WhatsApp is among the primary means of communication, with people checking their texts, sending stickers, and gabbing in group chats. If that’s you, you’ll want to make the most of your time on the app, and we have some tips to help you do just that.
Dark Arts
Darkness has settled over most apps, and WhatsApp is no different. If you have a device with iOS 13 or higher installed or with Android 10 or higher, the feature will be turned on automatically if you have your system settings set to dark mode. If you have a device with Android 9 or below, go to Settings > Chats > Theme and select Dark.
Find Me
If you don’t mind being caught in an “I’m five minutes away” fib, you might want to try WhatsApp’s Live Location feature. Share your location by opening a chat, clicking on the plus sign, and selecting Location, where you’ll see an option to Share Live Location. It’s a handy way to find someone in a crowd or to get an idea how long you have to wait before your friend shows up.
Get Pinned
If there’s a special someone on WhatsApp that you chat with more than anyone, you can pin a chat to the top of your messages list. Go to the Chats tab and find the chat you want to make a priority. On iOS, swipe right and select Pin and on Android, tap and hold the chat and then tap Pin Chat.
Prying Eyes
Do you want to be friendly but not give too much away on WhatsApp? Then protect your privacy by going to Settings > Account > Privacy. There you can change who can see when you were last active, your profile photo, and status. You can also turn off read receipts, though you will then in turn not be able to see others’ read receipts.
Back It Up
To save chats, whether you’re sentimental or stocking up on blackmail material, go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Back Up Now.
You’re a Star
Have a message you want to save? Star it so it’s easily accessible. Tap and hold the message and the Star icon will appear. To unstar it, do the same. The message is now viewable by going to Settings > Starred Messages.
Psssst
Protect your WhatsApp chats from phone snoopers by going to Settings > Privacy and sliding Screen Lock on. It will enable any biometric lock that your phone has.
Take Your Friends With You
WhatsApp doesn’t just operate on your phone. You can communicate when you’re at your computer, too. On your computer go to web.whatsapp.com. On your phone, go to Settings > WhatsApp Web, and scan the QR code on your computer screen with your phone. There are also desktop apps for Windows and Mac.
Group Therapy
If you’ve got a group of friends or family who are never out of touch with each other, you’ll want to start a group chat. Go to the Chats tab and select New Group. Name the group, and select an image if you want one associated with it. Tap Next and add participants by either selecting the + and adding them from a list or by typing in each name individually. Select Create when you’re done.
Seen and Heard
WhatsApp has video calling that can handle eight participants. To make a video call, go to Chats, tap the person or a group you’d like to call, and select the phone icon at the top of the screen. Then tap Video call. Voice and video calls recently rolled out to the desktop, too.
Shout It Out
To send a message to multiple people without them realizing they’re on a group chat, use the broadcast list feature. You can only use this with those who have you in their contact list. To broadcast, go to Chats > Broadcast Lists and either select an existing list or create a new one by clicking New List and typing in contact names. When recipients reply, it will be only to you and not the rest of the list.
Passing Notes
WhatsApp lets you send documents to contacts. To send, tap the (+) sign next to the text field (iOS) or the paperclip icon at the top of the screen (Android). On iOS, choose a doc from iCloud Drive or tap More for other options, like Google Drive (above). On Android, select the document you want to send and tap Send in the popup.
Jazz Up Your Photos, Chats
You can add text and doodles to images with editing tools that appear automatically after capturing a new photo or video, or importing one saved on the phone. Check out instructions for iPhone and Android. WhatsApp also lets you use flash on the front-facing camera so you’ll be well-lit for all selfies you send.
And what’s a chat app without GIFs? To add them to your chats on iOS, tap the (+) button > Photos & Video Library > GIF button on bottom left. On Android, tap the emoji button and select GIF at the bottom of the screen.
Status Conscious
WhatsApp status updates go beyond text. Photos, GIFs, and videos that disappear in 24 hours can now be shared with contacts.
First you’re going to want to control who sees your status update. Open WhatsApp and tap the Status icon in the bottom tray, then select Privacy. You’ll be able to choose between your contacts, your contacts with the exception of some chosen people, and just contacts that you hand select.
Now to use the feature. Tap Status > My Status. It will open to photo and text options. If you select the photo icon, you can select an existing photo or video, create new ones, or tap the GIF button at the bottom of your photo library to post a gif from Giphy. With text, you can scroll through color backgrounds and fonts by tapping on the text and palette options at the top of the page. When you’re done, just tap the send icon and whoever you chose to see your status will receive it.
Picture Perfect
WhatsApp has stepped up its photo game. When you get four or more photos or videos in a row from one person, they will now be grouped together in a tile-display album within the message. If you tap it, you’ll see a full-screen view of each image or video.
Hey Man, Nice Shot
Let’s face it, filters make for good photos, and you can filter your photos, GIFs, and videos right in a WhatsApp message. Just tap the camera icon and either select an image from your library or take one and then swipe up to select one of five filters (pop, black and white, cool, chrome, and film). You can also add text, stickers, emoji, and your own scribbles to your images and videos.
Photo Finish
Love them or hate them, you can take care of a series of photos you’ve received in one fell swoop. If you’ve been sent multiple photos, tap them and hold and you’ll be presented with a choice to forward them all or delete them all.
Doing the Two-Step
Two-step verification is a must if you’re concerned about security. If you decide you want it on WhatsApp, you’ll have to enter a six-digit passcode when you use the app, but the inconvenience is worth the peace of mind. To enable it, go to Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification > Enable, and you’ll be asked to create a passcode. Make sure to also enter your email address when prompted so you can disable two-step verification if you ever forget your passcode.
Get a Word In
Sure, you can type in the text box like anybody but there’s also an alternate way to reply to a message. Just swipe right and start typing your response immediately.
Take It Back
There are some things you can never take back. But you can delete a message in WhatsApp. Tap and hold it and choose Delete followed by Delete for Everyone. Note that you can only be saved for up to seven minutes after you send a message; you and the recipient also need to have the latest version of WhatsApp installed.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.
