Useful WhatsApp Tips and Tricks You Should Know Leave a comment
Useful WhatsApp Tips and Tricks You Should Know: With WhatsApp being one of the world’s top messaging apps, having more than 2 billion monthly active users globally, it has become relatively easy to reach a wide network of people across this platform.
The features embedded in this app, some of which are very much visible, such as the text box, video, and voice calls, profile display pictures (DP), end-to-end encryption, group chats, the exchange of graphics, very well creates a superb experience for WhatsApp users.
Interestingly, WhatsApp holds a lot more features than we may know. Some of these features are, however, not as visible as some others and this makes people refer to them as “hidden features”.
This article reveals some next-level features, tips, and tricks that would elevate how you interact with the app.
1. Change Your WhatsApp Background
You do not have to stay stuck with the default WhatsApp background for the entire time you use the app.
WhatsApp offers a feature that allows you conveniently customize your WhatsApp background and use any picture you want from solid colors to graphic backgrounds, and even down to using a cool picture of yourself.
There are two ways you can change your WhatsApp background. The first method is to open WhatsApp on your device, click the three vertical dots at the top right corner, go to settings, click on chats, and then modify the wallpaper.
With the second method, after opening WhatsApp on your device, you then open any chat, click the three vertical dots at the top right corner of your screen, click wallpaper, and then change it to the one that suits you.
2. Disappear Messages
WhatsApp recently added a feature that allows you to set up your messages to automatically disappear after a certain period.
If you’re a person that easily gets overwhelmed, you might find this feature useful. This helps to keep your WhatsApp chat space free from clutter, especially group chats.
When you set up the disappearing messages on your WhatsApp, the chats not only disappears from your end but also the other person’s device.
Typically, the chats would disappear automatically every seven days if the feature is enabled. To enable this feature, open WhatsApp on your device, open the chat you wish to disappear.
When this is open, click on the chat name, and scroll down until you see the “disappearing messages” option. Tap this option and then turn it on.
3. Control your privacy
So, you received and read a message from someone on WhatsApp but you need a little more time before you can constructively send a response, especially when it’s a message relating to work.
With WhatsApp, you can turn off the read receipt such that the blue ticks that serve as a telltale for when you have opened a message no longer appears.
All the sender sees is the double ticks indicating that the message has been delivered.
This gives you more time to think about a response before typing and sending, or better still, respond whenever you want to, no pressure, no guilt.
You can also control your last seen on WhatsApp with this privacy feature and block anybody at will.
To access this, open WhatsApp on your device, click the three vertical dots at the top right corner, go to settings, click on accounts, then privacy, and then modify your privacy settings.
4. Set a photo and video to view once
Another new feature WhatsApp added is the ability for users to set photos and videos to view once in the in-application camera.
This allows photos and videos in chats to be viewed a single time, after which it automatically deletes.
The picture doesn’t get stored on the other person’s device and cannot be accessed again once it has been viewed. With this view once option, users can exert more control over their privacy.
Once you’ve captured or imported the picture or video you wish to share, activate the view once option by clicking the icon with the number one at the bottom right of your screen.
5. Stop auto download of photos and videos to save data
When you first install WhatsApp on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, part of WhatsApp’s default settings allows media to automatically download immediately they are sent to you and you turn on your internet connection or WiFi.
This not only consumes data but also builds up clutter with unwanted media in your gallery. You can control this feature and choose to download only relevant media onto your device.
To modify this feature, head over to settings on your WhatsApp via the three vertical dots on the top right of your screen, click on storage and data, and uncheck the boxes beside all the media under the media auto-download when using mobile data, connected to Wi-Fi and when roaming.
6. Setup Your WhatsApp Account on more than one device
The WhatsApp multi-device beta feature allows WhatsApp users to connect to more than one device without needing their smartphone connected to the internet.
This is an opt-in program for WhatsApp for Web, such that other devices would be granted access without the need to keep your phone connected.
This feature is, however, limited to only four devices, and restricts certain features that you would typically have access to on your primary device, such as, clearing or deleting chats, sending messages with link previews from WhatsApp Web, viewing live location on the primary device.
If you do not use your phone (or primary device) for over 14 days, your linked devices will become disconnected.
To enable this feature, head over to settings on your WhatsApp via the three vertical dots on the top right of your screen, click on linked devices and select the multi-device option.
You can then start linking devices to your WhatsApp account.
7. Format text
You’ve probably seen messages sent to you on WhatsApp either in bold, italics, with a strikethrough, or in the stylish WhatsApp typewriter font and you’re probably wondering how you can do this too.
The trick to do this is rather very easy. Depending on the format you want, adding the corresponding special character to the word or phrase gives you the effect that you want. Some of the special characters include:
- Type an underscore (_) on both sides of a word or phrase to make it appear in italics
- Type an asterisk (*) on both sides of a word or phrase to make it bold
- Type a tilde (¬) on both sides of a word or phrase to strikethrough it
- Type three backquotes (“`) on both sides of a word or phrase to get the typewriter font. Care should be taken to not mistake apostrophes for back quotes, else, you won’t get the desired font.
Another way to format text is by highlighting the word or phrase and then scrolling down till you get the option that you want.
8. Pin Chats
WhatsApp has a feature that allows you to keep important chat heads or frequent conversations pinned at the top of your WhatsApp.
This way, you no longer need to scroll through the long list of conversations before you can find the chat that you want.
If you find your WhatsApp chats swamped with random irrelevant messages, the pin feature would come in very handy.
To do this, long-press the chat you wish to pin. This would cause some icons to appear at the top of your screen. Click on the pin icon and the chat would move right to the top. What’s more, WhatsApp allows you to do this for up to three chats.
9. Star Messages
This feature is important for keeping important information at arm’s reach. Instead of scrolling through the many messages in a chat, the star message feature allows you to bookmark specific messages so that you can quickly refer back to them, either in a group chat or personal chat.
Long press the message you wish to star and then tap on the star icon that would appear at the top of your screen.
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Conclusion
WhatsApp holds features that allow you to not only chat with people but also fully customize and personalize your experience on the App. Go on and explore the features explained above.
