WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world that has many features.
Billions of users use this app but millions are unaware of some of the best features hidden in it.
Learn about a few such WhatsApp tricks that can be of great use to you on this platform.
Post text in bold, italic or strikethrough style
By the way, these features have been present in the Meta-owned app for many years, but surprisingly, many people still don’t know about it.
If you want to make your message bold, add * at the beginning and end of the message, like a biscuit.
Similarly, italics require putting _ at the beginning and end of a message, such as text, while strikethrough style requires adding a ~ at the end and beginning of a sentence, such as ~text~.
And yes, you can write your message in a monospace font by adding “`’ at the beginning and end of a message.
Prevent WhatsApp files from auto-downloading on mobile data
If you want to save your precious mobile data (internet) then you can disable the media download option.
For this purpose, go to the app’s settings, go to storage and data, and select the media auto-download option there.
In this section, you can choose to download over mobile data, Wi-Fi, or roaming.
Ensure less mobile data usage with WhatsApp calls
WhatsApp calls are the main feature of this platform and the good thing is that the company has also taken care of saving mobile data.
For this purpose, go to Storage & Data in Settings and enable the Use less data for calls option.
Know WhatsApp data details
WhatsApp also has a data breakdown tracker that lets you know how much data you’ve sent or received across Google Drive, Roaming, WhatsApp calls, status updates, messages, media, and more.
For this, go to Settings > Storage & Data > Network Usage.
Learn about contacts storage
In Settings go to Storage & Data and then Manage Storage, where you can view various statistics.
With this feature you will know how much your device storage is being filled by contact or group, the contacts or groups that send media files the most will be at the top of the list.
You can also clear this data at the same place.
Account Info Request
Like Facebook, some account details can be accessed in WhatsApp.
For this, go to Account and then Request Account Info in Settings and click on Request Report.
It may take several days for this report to reach you.
Email the chat log to yourself
WhatsApp has given the option to save the chat history to the cloud but you can also email specific chat logs.
For this purpose go to chat history option by clicking on chats in settings and click on export chat there.
After doing this, the chat menu will appear where you can email the chat history of a contact or group after selecting it.
Two-step verification
By the way, WhatsApp asks for the phone number once to provide the PIN number after switching the device, but by enabling two-step verification, you can prevent others from accessing your account, regardless of who you are. Do not carry your SIM card.
To enable this feature, go to Accounts in Settings and click on Two-step verification, where a 6-digit PIN code can be created while an email address can also be added.
Add a WhatsApp contact to the phone’s home screen
WhatsApp also offers an option to add contacts to the phone’s home screen, which is great for people who keep in touch with specific friends a lot.
To use this, after opening your desired chat in WhatsApp, go to the three-dot menu at the top and click on More and select Add Shortcut.
After that click on Add automatically and that’s it.
Disable read receipts
If you want to disappear the blue tick that appears after viewing a message, go to Account and then Privacy in Settings and uncheck the box for Read Receipts there.
Remember that after doing this, others will not know when you read the message, but you also won’t be able to know when your friend read your message.
How many people read your message in the group?
To do this, select your message and then click on Info in the three-dot menu at the top.
There you will be able to see how many members in the group have read your message and also know when the message reached their devices.
However, if someone has disabled read receipts or you have been blocked, their name will not be visible.
Possible to change last scene feature
An important function of WhatsApp is Last Seen which shows when the user last used WhatsApp.
To change this feature, go to settings and click on privacy in the account option.
There you will see 4 options Everyone, My contacts, No body and My contacts except.
You can restrict your last scene to specific people by clicking on My contacts except.
But keep in mind that the people you block from seeing the last scene, you won’t be able to see their last scene status, just like red receipts.
How to use Live Location Tracking?
Sending a location pin in WhatsApp is quite easy, for this click on the paper clip icon next to where you compose the message and select the location option.
However, if you want specific friends or family to be able to track your movements in real-time, click on the paperclip icon and go to Location and then Share Live Location.
You can also set the time from 15 minutes to 8 hours during which this tracking can be done and yes, the tracking location can also be stopped.
How to use the costume notification option for a contact?
With multiple contacts added to each person’s account in WhatsApp, many times the flood of message alerts becomes mind-numbing.
The solution is to turn off the notification alert itself, but there is another way in the form of costume notifications.
To use it, open the desired chat, click on the contact’s name at the top, and then select Costume Notification.
In this menu you can change the message tone for that contact, choose the LED notification color for that contact or select other options.
Mute contacts or groups
If you are tired of messages from a group or contact but don’t want to block them, you can use the mute option.
For this purpose, press and hold the name of the desired contact or group on the home feed of WhatsApp for a while, after which the mute icon (a speaker with a line drawn on it) will be visible, by clicking on it you can mute the contact or group. You can mute the group for 8 hours, a week or forever.
