10 very practical functions to discover on WhatsApp

You use WhatsApp every day. Whether it is on Android or iOS, it is undoubtedly one of the most popular apps. Used by more than two billion people, the messaging service is simple and convenient. Moreover, the fact that it is free undoubtedly helped its growing popularity. The app is updated regularly and new features are constantly being introduced.

Most of them are intuitive and practical. However, some still get away with a large number of users. You can format the text, lock the app, and customize the notifications, much more is possible in WhatsApp. We’ve compiled a list of useful features, but you might not know them yet. Let’s find out what you can do with WhatsApp to improve your user experience.

1. Know who to talk to more

Did you know that it is possible to find out which contact you chat with the most on WhatsApp? You may be surprised by the result. To find out who you talk to the most, just check how much space each conversation takes up in your phone’s memory. There are also many other interesting options.

To activate the option, go to Settings from WhatsApp and then choose ” Data use and storageThen press space management. In the list of conversations that appears, you will be able to see who you chat with the most and see how much space each conversation takes up on your phone.

2. Format message text

Tired of typing the same way all messages are displayed? Nothing is more practical to illustrate your words than being able to highlight specific words or groups of words. Sometimes writing completely in capital letters is not enough to express your intent. WhatsApp gives you the option to send text messagesembolden , employment Diagonal, where Bare. To do this, you simply have to surround the text you want to format with special characters.

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To make text bold in WhatsApp, simply surround it with asterisks . The *selected text* It will be displayed in bold. For italics, add (_) to either side of the text in your message _thus_. And for those who want to cross out all or part of the text, just put (~) around the selected text ~thus

~. Here’s how to format the text of your messages to add more impact to your conversations.

3. Messages disappear automatically

Ephemeral messages are very practical. In fact, it may happen that you do not necessarily want the recipient to keep a particular message. WhatsApp already offered an option to delete messages, but this had to be done manually. Two new features have been added to the app to automatically delete messages from your conversations. The first option allows you to automatically delete all messages in the discussion 7 days later . To activate the option, simply select the recipient and To open the conversation concerned. Click on the contact nameAt the top of the conversation

and activate Temporary Messages from the list of available options. It is important to note that your contact can also change this setting on their part. The second option allows you to send a photo or video that disappears once your contact sees the message. This is a very useful option for sending photos that contain confidential information (password, bank details, etc.). Once the contact closes the photo or video, it will disappear from the conversation and will not be saved to the phone gallery. In addition, if the message is not open 14 days later

, will be deleted. To use this feature, you have to choose the media you want to send. Press the small paperclip to choose media from your gallery or the camera icon to take a photo or video. Before sending your media, tap the icon«1»

located to the left of the submit button. All you have to do is submit your media.

Remember that the recipient can always take a screenshot of the message. So be careful with the messages you send.

4. Define personal notifications

The default WhatsApp notification sound is an integral part of the daily lives of billions of people. But did you know that you can customize notifications for all your conversations? So you will be able to see who is writing to you without having to pick up your phone. This is very useful especially when your phone keeps ringing. You will be able to focus on your tasks and not respond until you hear these personalized notifications. To activate the option on Android, access the menu and then select “ Show contact “. Click on “ Personal notifications“check the box”Use custom notifications

All you have to do is choose the alert sounds you prefer. Note that it is possible to customize message and call notifications.

5. Activate your fingerprint or face recognition to unblock WhatsApp

It is always useful to protect your conversations. Especially in an application like WhatsApp where sometimes a lot of confidential information is exchanged. You can add double security to the app by setting up your fingerprint or face recognition (only on iOS). So, even if your phone is unlocked, it will be impossible to access WhatsApp without authentication.To lock WhatsApp with your fingerprint, go to the app settings. Select the optionaccount” Then “Secrecyand scroll down to pressFingerprint lock

Slide the Activate button to the right and confirm with your fingerprint to activate the option.

In the displayed options, you can choose the time required to block the application (immediately, after 1 minute and after 30 minutes). On the iPhone, you will also be able to access the option to unlock the face recognition. This is a very useful feature and if you configure the notification settings correctly, your account will be really safe.

You can prevent the content of messages from appearing in the notification bar.

6. Read voice messages in quick succession

Sending voice notes on WhatsApp is one of the most used features of the app. It is much easier and more convenient to send a voice note than to write long messages. In fact, when you don’t necessarily have time to make a call or write, exchanging voice notes is very practical.

It is now possible to send voice notes without having to hold the record button. But, although reading a 5-minute voicemail message is very convenient, it can also be quite annoying, especially when you don’t have time to listen to it. The solution is simple: read voice messages in accelerated mode.Without changing the sender’s voice, you can read the message 1.5 times or 2 times faster. The procedure is the same on Android or iOS. Start reading the selected message and press the 1x icon that appears to the right of it. You will be able to shift between speeds1x, 1.5x, 2x

.

7. Reply privately to a message in a group

Group chats in WhatsApp can be messy. Messages are flowing and you may want to respond to a message in a group chat privately. However, it is not very practical to go to this contact’s private chat every time to reply and then return to the group.

It is easy to lose sight of the topic of discussion. Fortunately, WhatsApp has a feature to reply privately without having to leave your chat group. To reply to a specific message in a group, tap and select a message in a group chat.Show the menu by selecting the three buttons in the upper right corner, choose the option “private reply

You will be taken directly to the private discussion thread with that contact and the message will be displayed in reply mode. Like when you reply directly to a message in a conversation.

8. Encrypt chat backups

The security of your information on the Internet is very important. For years, WhatsApp had a serious flaw at this level. It has always been possible to save conversations to Google Drive or iCloud. But these backups are not necessarily encrypted. This allowed various organizations to exploit this flaw to consult users’ private conversations.WhatsApp solved the problem by offering an option to encrypt your backups. It will be secured with a password or encryption key (64-bit). To secure your chats, go to your WhatsApp settings. Select the optiondiscussion

Then ‘Save the discussions’.You can then activateEnd-to-end encrypted backup

All you have to do is follow the instructions to protect your backups with a 64-digit password or encryption key.

9. Transfer chats from iOS to Android

Have you changed your phone recently? It is very easy to recover chat history if you are using the same operating system. Transferring from Android to Android or iOS to iOS is done in a few simple steps when you install the app on your new phone. But if you want to transfer your chats from Android to iOS or vice versa, the process is a bit more complicated.

WhatsApp recently introduced a feature that makes the process possible. It is currently only available for some Samsung phones. We were hoping it would be extended soon to include more devices. The procedure for doing this is very complicated. You will need to connect both devices with a USB-C compatible Lightning cable.On your iPhone, make sure the device is a trusted device to allow data transfer. Your phone will automatically install Smart Switch which is a transfer app. Open the smart switch and tap “Transfer from iPhone or iPadYou will need to scan your iPhoneQR code

that will appear on your Android device.

You will just have to follow the instructions to transfer your conversations. Note that this may take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

10. Quickly access your latest contacts and camera

This feature is one of the most convenient. However, it is not well known. From your device menu you can access the WhatsApp camera to send media. Once you take the photo or video, you will be able to choose the recipients to send it to. Of course, the option to send temporary messages is available.It is also possible to go back to your recent conversations (private or group). You can go directly to one of the last 3 conversations. To use this feature, performappui long

on the WhatsApp icon. A menu will appear with the camera option and the last 3 conversations.