WhatsApp Hacks That Everyone Needs To Know

Android users can create shortcuts to chats

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If you use Android, then you are in luck because I have something beneficial for just you Android users. On your home screen, you actually have the ability to make shortcuts to WhatsApp. You don't even have to open the app to start a conversation anymore. To accomplish this, tap and hold on the conversation for which you want to make a shortcut, and then select the option to add the conversation as a shortcut from the menu that appears. Now how hard was that, really? Conversations literally at your fingertips!

Turn off your last seen to remain incognito

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We would prefer it if others did not always know exactly where we are and what we are up to at any given time. After all, a bit of privacy is nice to have. If you choose to ignore the message from another person on purpose, we don't want that person to find out about it! And if they do find out about it, you know you're going to be in trouble. To avoid this awkward encounter, all you need to do is disable your "last seen" feature by going to settings, then privacy, and finally the "last seen" option.

WhatsApp will show you your most frequently-interacted-with friends

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The days that Snapchat showed us lists of our closest pals were the best days, let's be honest. Now, WhatsApp is able to compile a list of the contacts you have exchanged the most messages with and provide it to you, in a very easy and simple way. All you need to do is navigate to Settings > Data and Storage Usage > Storage Usage to find out this information. You'll find a list of your contacts shown here in the order of the amount of data that has been shared between the two of you. It might even shock you.

Hide your previews to keep secrets

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Have you ever been in the middle of a sensitive conversation with your friend and your phone messages constantly appear on the table while you're eating dinner? Or have you ever tried to plan someone's birthday and the messages continue to try and give the surprise away? Well, you can actually turn off the message preview to stop this from happening. All you need to do is head to settings > notifications > disable show preview. That way, you can keep all your conversations secret. What are you waiting for?

Keep messages starred for later use

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If someone has sent you a piece of important information, for example an address for an event, their Netflix password, or just a hilarious message, the last thing you want to do is go scrolling through thousands of messages to find it again. Well, that's where WhatsApp's starred messages trick comes into play. If you're on iPhone, long hold or double tap the message you want to star, and just click the star button. On Android, it's just a long hold. You'll then be able to find starred messages by clicking the chat's name! Amazing!

Make sure you save your data!

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I'm not sure how many people are still on limited data plans, but I can guarantee that if you are then you like to use your data scarcely so as not to run out. Well, your WhatsApp might be set to automatically download your media files using data rather than WiFi, but there's an easy fix. Head to settings > data and storage usage and you can choose different options there for downloading media. For Android phones, you can head to settings > data usage where you can amend the settings there. No more hefty phone bills!

Unclutter those unread messages

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If you're one of those that let unread messages pile up in your inbox, then you might just benefit from having a big clear out of messages in order to start afresh. Admittedly, we're not all like this, but we all have at least one friend that literally never replies to their messages, and this is probably why! A cluttered up inbox can be so overwhelming and stressful, sometimes we just need to hit that reset button. If you head to edit in the top left corner, you will see the read all button at the bottom. That ought to do it.

Pin your most popular group chats

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Let's be honest, there's some group chats we want to be a part of more than others. Don't you just hate the ones that include most people you don't like, and the notifications are constantly going off? Well, lucky for you, WhatsApp have introduced a feature where you can pin your favorite group chats to your home page, in order to make a quick entry to type a message. All you need to do is head to the chat in the chat menu, swipe right (if on iPhone) or do a long hold (if on Android) and pin the chat where it is!

Save data while calling with WhatsApp

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A lot of people use WhatsApp because of it's unique calling services, especially if you have family and friends that live abroad. Most use it to avoid those pesky international calling fees that your phone service provider probably has. The way to unlock this feature on WhatsApp is to enable WiFi calling instead of cellular. This also helps if you don't have much data on your plan too. Head to the data and storage usage menu through settings and click low data usage, which obviously reduces the data used during calls.

Reply directly to a pop-up notification

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Nowadays you don't even have to go into the WhatsApp app to reply to a message. Instead, you can reply straight from the WhatsApp notification you receive when someone has sent you a message. To enable this fantastic and easy feature, you will (unsurprisingly) have to make a visit to your WhatsApp settings. There you need to head to notifications, then popup notifications. You will be presented with four options to choose from. Although, all you iPhone users will have to sit by and watch for this one - it's only available on Android!

You can disable those exposing WhatsApp blue ticks

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There is nothing more embarrassing than accidentally clicking on a message that you did not intend to read and then being exposed by those sly little blue ticks, meaning that you've read the messages and ghosted the person. If you're anything like me, then you're going to want to disable these settings. All you have to do is go to settings, then account, then privacy, and select the option to turn off read receipts. Then, voila: you won't have to give an explanation to people when you ghost them.

Reply to specific messages in group chats

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Sometimes the group chat can interchange between so many conversation topics that it can be hard to keep up! Well, WhatsApp have tackled this annoying issue by making it easier to reply to certain messages in the chat. If you want to continue a conversation that was happening a few messages ago, then reply direct to that message using the following method. If on Android, press and hold the chosen message and click reply in the pop-up menu. iPhone is similar, except you will need to swipe right on the message instead.

Not everybody has to see your profile pic!

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You have the option of hiding your profile photo from those who aren't already in your contacts if you feel uncomfortable with them seeing it when they visit your profile. Not all people can get hold of your WhatsApp relatively easily, but some people can see your profile just by having your phone number in their contacts. The procedure is not overly complicated; all you have to do is navigate to settings > privacy > profile photo, and then select the people you want to be able to view it. Who said it was hard?

Save storage by quickly deleting all media from a specific chat

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Are you having trouble keeping all of your photos, videos and apps on your phone? Well, what if I told you that all the media stored in your WhatsApp is causing this issue? If you want to be able to still keep the conversations but remove all the media you've received then this is most likely the most useful tool for you. In order to do so, you need to navigate to settings > storage and data > manage storage > pick contact > choose what you want to delete > and then just press the bin button to delete it!

Use your laptop to reply to messages

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Did you know that WhatsApp isn't just for your mobile but you can actually use the app on other devices too? Well, you do now! WhatsApp is great for using over a computer, especially if you use it for work purposed. Some people like the comfort of being able to type their lines away at a keyboard rather than on a phone. You can even link the app with the one on your phone. All you need to do is head to web.whatsapp.com and scan the QR code there from your mobile to sync the two apps together. Easy peasy!

Send group invites (without your friends knowing)

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You can basically blind carbon copy people on WhatsApp if you want to send an invite to multiple friends but don't want them to know who you've set it to. This feature can prove very useful if you're planning an event but don't want your other friends to know that you've invited that one person they absolutely hate. You will find a Broadcast Lists service for you to use in the top left corner of the chats window. This will allow you to send out invites to anyone you want to, without them knowing you've invited your whole contact list.

Send your friends your location to stay safe!

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It is a good idea to let your friends know where you are and to let them know if anything changes along the way while you are going on a date or on the way to meet someone. Especially if you know you're in a risky situation. The only thing that is required of you is to click the little pin or click the symbol that looks like a plus sign, and then select the share location option under the menu. It is very possible that WhatsApp may ask for permission to access your location at some point when you are using the app.

Use your voice to send messages

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This speech-to-text function is wonderful if you are struggling with accessibility issues, or if you are engaged in another activity at the same time that you are sending a text. And the best part about it all is that there are multiple ways for you to actually do it. Either you do it directly through the app by tapping the small microphone icon and speaking into it, or you can just say "hey Siri" or "ok Google" and ask them to send a text message using WhatsApp. Obviously, don't forget to mention the receiving contact.

Message people privately that you're in a group chat with

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If you're in group chats where things are starting to get a little bit heated, then you probably want to message one of your friends direct to gossip about the situation. Or, you might be put in a group chat where you don't have the contacts' numbers in your phone. Either way, there's a great a simple way for you to message people directly. When you see their message in the group chat, simply hold the message down and reply privately/direct so that you can start a new private conversation with them.

Personalize your WhatsApp chat by changing the wallpaper

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There is nothing more satisfying than adding that personal touch to your group chat or private message conversation, and WhatsApp provides the perfect tool for doing just that. You will be able to select your own personalized wallpaper or upload an image of your own to make that chat or group chat a little bit more personal. In order to activate it, you just need to navigate to to the settings menu in WhatsApp, select chats, then select chat wallpaper, and finally select "choose a new wallpaper."

Add important dates to your calendar

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If you're anything like me, as soon as you get invited to an event, you'll agree then totally forget what you've agreed to and when. Well, that's where WhatsApp has stepped in. They introduced a new feature whereby whenever someone sends an invite to an event, you can automatically sync it with your phone's calendar. Unfortunately for Android users, this service is only available on iPhones. When someone sends the date, you'll notice it has become highlighted in blue. Click on that and it will give you the option to add it to your calendar.

Send all kinds of attachments!

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You know, WhatsApp is more much useful than just sending photos and GIFs when you want to make people laugh. They will also give you the option of attaching PDF files, or uploading files from your Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud. What more could you want? In order to send a document over your messages, tap the + symbol you see near your chat box. You'll be presented with a number of options, and all you have to do is press the right ones to upload your chosen documents. Has file sharing ever been easier?

Assign different message chimes for each friend or group chat

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You can alter the notifications for each person you speak to in order to choose which notifications you check your phone call. After all, some people's messages are more important than others. This is accomplished by changing the settings for each person's notification preferences. If you want to cut down on the amount of times you check your phone throughout the day, this can be helpful. If it is a group chat, you will need to bring up the page for the group details, then navigate to the custom notifications section to make the required edits there.

Keeping a secret? Turn on disappearing messages

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You can alter the notifications for each person you speak to in order to choose which notifications you check your phone call. After all, some people's messages are more important than others. This is accomplished by changing the settings for each person's notification preferences. If you want to cut down on the amount of times you check your phone throughout the day, this can be helpful. If it is a group chat, you will need to bring up the page for the group details, then navigate to the custom notifications section to make the required edits there.

Draw on the photos you're sending

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WhatsApp is great for sending photos, and you might just want to circle someone on said photo, or draw a funny face, or write a caption, and WhatsApp allows you to do that. When you're in the chat you're wanting to send the photo too, press the little paperclip icon or camera icon to attach one of your favorite photos. Once you've got to your album, find the photo and click it. You will then have the options (at the top of the screen) to draw, edit, write captions, crop etc. An editing software at your fingertips!

Group chats can show you who's read your message

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Did you think that it was only Snapchat that gave you the option of deleting messages after 24 hours? Well, you'd actually be wrong. WhatsApp actually have this feature hidden in their settings, you just need to know where to look for it. You can choose whether the messages are deleted after 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days. All you need to do is click on the chat you want to make disappear, click the person's name at the top of the chat, go to disappearing messages then choose your preferred timer.

Mark messages as unread to come back to them later

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Have you ever been super busy or been out and about and accidentally opened a message when you weren't meant to, then forget to reply to it later? Well, let that be a thing of the past. Marking the message as unread might not replace the blue ticks the contact received, but it will mean you'll be able to go back to the message at a later time and reply accordingly. In order to do this, swipe right on iPhone to automatically set it as unread, or hold on the message and press mark as unread on Android. Easy!

Make your friends laugh with unlimited GIFs

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Funny GIFs are the bread and butter of a WhatsApp chat. If you want to make people laugh... send a GIF. Someone's feeling down... send a GIF. Drama is going down in the group chat... send a GIF. There's never not an appropriate time to send a GIF into your chat. Better still, you don't even have to scour the internet for your own GIFs to send in the chat, WhatsApp actually have their own library of GIFs at your fingertips. Just hit the + icon near your chat box and click GIF. You can even star your favorite ones!

You can set how long you want to mute a chat for

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There is nothing more annoying than having your WhatsApp group chat notifications keep going off while you are in a crucial meeting or otherwise preoccupied for the day. Choose to put a temporary mute on the chat in order to give yourself the much-needed break that you deserve. After all, we don't want to be hearing that pointless group chat continuously going off throughout the day do we? To mute the conversation, you just only tap the chat, navigate to the group info, and mute it from there.

Keep your message history backed up

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One of the worst things that can happen when it comes to changing your phone is that you might just lose all of your WhatsApp conversations, including photos, voice notes, attachments, etc. If you're using an iPhone, you have the option for your WhatsApp to automatically back up your chats daily, weekly or monthly to iCloud. Just click settings > chats > chat backup. It's also the same with Android (settings > chats and calls > chat backup), however, it instead backs your data onto Google Drive.