cool WhatsApp tricks

If there was ever a debate on which smartphone app we use the most, the winner would definitely be WhatsApp. The popular instant messenger is easy to use but it has some hidden features and tweaks that we tend to miss out on. Moreover, WhatsApp keeps on adding features discreetly, so it’s important for us to be up to date.

So, let’s begin with some basic ones....

1. Hiding Last Seen, Profile Picture and Status

The “last seen” feature can be the root to some problems in life and keeping that in mind, WhatsApp has included the ability to hide it altogether. You can hide your last seen, profile picture and status from people.

To do that, you just need to go to WhatsApp’s Settings->Account->Privacy. There you will have the options to choose whether you want your last seen, profile picture and status to be seen by “Everyone”, “Contacts” or “Nobody”.

Note: If you hide your last seen, you won’t be able to see others’ last seen as well.

2. Manage Auto Downloading of Media

While auto-download on WhatsApp is a convenient feature rather than manually tapping download every time a picture or video arrives but it can suck up your limited mobile data bandwidth. Thus, there are options to set that accordingly.

On Android, you will find the options in Settings->Chats and calls->Media auto-download. You can then set whether you want to auto download images, audio and videos on mobile data, WiFi and roaming.

On the iPhone, there’s only an option to either turn ON or OFF automatically “Save Incoming Media“.

3. Turn Off Read Receipts aka Blue Ticks

Read receipts aka blue ticks, like last seen, can create some relationship issues, so you might have contemplated on turning it OFF entirely. Well, WhatsApp understands that and there’s an option to turn it off.

WhatsApp features the option in Settings->Account->Privacy. In the Privacy page, you will find a toggle to turn off “Read Receipts“.

Note: If you turn off read receipts, you too will not be able to view anyone else’s read receipts.

4. Check When a Message was Read

WhatsApp lets you check when a message sent by you was read first. It’s simple, as all you need to do is press hold on a message and tap “Info“. Once you do that, you will be able to see the time when your message was delivered and read.

5. Change your Number

There are times when we move to a new place and we have to take a new number. In that case, you can simply change your phone number on WhatsApp without losing any of your chats or data.

Head over to Settings->Account->Change number, then enter your old and new number. Once WhatsApp is done verifying through SMS or call, your number will be changed.

6. Delete your WhatsApp Account

With all the hoopla internet brings to our lives, we sometimes consider taking a break from it and that’s when you would want to delete your WhatsApp account.

To delete your WhatsApp account, go to Settings->Account->Delete my account. Enter your country code & mobile number to verify and your account will be deleted. Keep in mind though that deleting your WhatsApp account will remove you from all groups and erase your message history and backups.

7. Set up Popup Notifications and Reply Directly (Android only)

WhatsApp includes the ability to get popup notifications on Android. You can turn it on by going to Settings->Notifications->Popup notification. You can set it to show popup when screen is off or on, or you can set it to “always show popup”. The popup notification also lets you reply directly from the popup, which makes chatting with more people simultaneously easier.

8. Change WhatsApp Wallpaper

The same old wallpaper in WhatsApp’s chats can get a little monotonous after some time and that’s why WhatsApp lets you set custom wallpaper to spice things up a bit. The option to choose a wallpaper resides in Settings->Chats and calls->Wallpaper. You can choose to have a custom wallpaper from your Gallery or choose one from WhatsApp’s library.

9. Start a New Chat using 3D Touch (iPhone 6s only)

Thanks to iPhone 6s’ latest 3D Touch feature, you can start a new chat or search through chats directly from WhatsApp’s icon on the homescreen. You just need to force touch on the WhatsApp icon and you will get the options of “New Chat” and “Search”.

10. Peek into Messages using 3D Touch (iPhone 6s only)

WhatsApp implements 3D Touch inside the app as well. On an iPhone 6s, you can force touch on a chat thread to see a preview of the conversation and you can slide up to see options like Mark as unread, Archive, Mute and Delete Chat.

11. Backup Chats on Local Storage or Google Drive/iCloud

WhatsApp has had the ability to backup chats on your device’s local storage but it recently rolled out a new feature, which lets you backup your chats on Google Drive (Android) and iCloud (iPhone).

To backup your chats, go to Settings->Chats and calls->Chat backup and tap “Back up”. The page also shows you your last backup and its size.

12. Use Less Data on WhatsApp Calls

WhatsApp call is a great feature but it does take up a lot of bandwidth and this the reason why WhatsApp included a low data usage mode recently.

On Android, you can turn on low data usage on WhatsApp calls by going intoSettings->Chats and calls->Low data usage. However, you will find the same option on an iPhone in Settings->Data Usage.

13. Hide Notification Preview of Messages

You must have gone through the embarrassment of a friend reading your personal messages, thanks to notifications. With both Android and iOS supporting lockscreen notifications, it’s an even bigger problem. Well, the good news is WhatsApp on iPhone lets you hide notification preview of messages. To hide notification preview of messages, go to Settings->Notifications and turn off “Show Preview“.

Sadly, WhatsApp on Android does not let you disable preview of messages but you can disable notifications by going to phone Settings->Apps->WhatsApp->Notifications and selecting “Block all”. Do note that this will result in no notifications entirely from WhatsApp.

14. Read a Message Without Going Online

This is something we all want because at times, we want to see a certain message but we don’t want to go online. There’s a way for that and it’s very easy. After the message has arrived, simply turn off mobile data or turn on airplane mode on your device and then, open WhatsApp and see the message. Once you are done, come back to the homescreen and turn on your mobile data. Pretty easy, right?

15. Block a Contact

WhatsApp is a great app that brings people closer but there are people who get on your nerve and you feel like removing them from your WhatsApp account. Fortunately, there is an option to block contacts on WhatsApp.

You can block a contact on Android by going into their chat thread and tapping the three dot button the tap right. Then, select More->”Block”.

On an iPhone, go to the chat thread of the person you want to block and then go to Contact Info by tapping on the name/number of the person. Then, scroll below and tap “Block this Contact”.

16. Archive Chats

What do you do if you don’t want to delete a chat thread but you don’t want to see it either? Well, you put it to archives.

On Android smartphones, you can press hold on a chat and you will get the option to “Archive chat” among others while on iPhone, you can swipe left on a chat to get the “Archive” option.

17. Mute Groups and Notifications

Groups on WhatsApp are a great way to message a lot of people at once but they can get annoying sometimes. Well, there are options to mute a group and you can also stop getting notifications.

To mute a group, Go to group info on WhatsApp and turn on mute. You can turn on mute for 8 hours, a week or even a year. On Android, you also get an option to turn off “show notifications” while muting a group. However, on an iPhone, you can only mute a group chat.

18. Email a Conversation

If you want to keep a special chat safe in your email account, WhatsApp lets you do that easily. On Android phones, press hold on a chat and you will get an option to “Email chat” and on an iPhone, you will have the “Email chat” option in “More” when you swipe left on a chat. You can also send the media on WhatsApp as email attachments.

19. Star Messages

Our conversations contain various special moments and we do feel like saving them to relive it later. That’s what starring messages lets you do. When you star messages, it saves those messages in a Starred Messages folder. You can easily star messages by press holding on a message and then pressing the star icon. You can find the Starred Messages in WhatsApp Settings.

20. Use WhatsApp Web

WhatsApp Web is a now a well known feature but it’s an important one nonetheless. That’s the reason we are reiterating here on how to use it.

To use it, go to web.whatsapp.com and tap WhatsApp web on your phone to scan the QR code from your PC. Once you’re done, you will see your WhatsApp chats in your browser tab. Moreover, WhatsApp Web also brings you notifications although that’s only when WhatsApp Web is open in a tab.

21. Send Public Messages in Bulk Privately (Broadcast)

On various occasions like New Year, it’s a great hassle to go on wishing Happy New Year to people individually, which makes WhatsApp’s broadcast feature all the more useful. WhatsApp’s broadcast feature lets you send messages in bulk privately without the recipients knowing that it has been sent through broadcast.

On Android, you can just tap the three dot button and tap “New broadcast” to create one. On iPhone, you will see a button for “Broadcast Lists” on WhatsApp’s home page, enter that and tap “New List” to create a new broadcast.

22. Set Custom Notification Tones

You can set custom notification notes for both message and calls on WhatsApp.  To do it, go to a contact’s info on WhatsApp and select “Custom notifications”. You can then choose a different ringtone & message tone for that contact. On Android, you can even set a custom vibration duration and notification light.

23. Check if WhatsApp is Connected or Not (Android only)

When you are in roaming or a place with poor network, you might have noticed some issues with WhatsApp notifications. That happens when WhatsApp isn’t able to connect properly. To make sure if WhatsApp on your phone is online or not, you can check the System Status.

To check if WhatsApp is working properly or not, Go to WhatsApp Settings->Help->System Status and you will see a message telling you if the service is operating normally or not.

24. Add Events in Calendar from Messages (iPhone only)

WhatsApp on iPhone detects dates in messages and lets you add an event from the chat itself. It detects dates as well as phrases like “Tomorrow” and “Today”. To add an event, just tap on the date in the message and select the option to “Create Event”.

Som