The 50 most useful tricks for WhatsApp

 The 50 most useful tricks for WhatsApp

It is very likely that the first thing we do when buying a new mobile, after restoring the agenda, is to install WhatsApp. It is not the best messaging application, but it is the one that is used the most by far. So much so, that we no longer say "send a message", but "send a WhatsApp". However, many of us just chat, and do not take advantage of all the possibilities that the app has. Therefore, we bring you a selection of the best tricks and most useful functions of WhatsApp , so that you can chat exactly how you want. If you are curious and you like to tinker, you may know many of these tips, but we guarantee that you will find more than one surprise.

1 - Deactivate the double blue check

We will start with something we all want to do sometime: read messages without anyone knowing . You just have to go to Settings , access My Account , and then click on Privacy . There we will find the option Reading Confirmations , and we can deactivate those two blue ticks that fill so many people with anxiety. A small collateral effect: if you remove them, you will not see whether your interlocutor has read your messages. You can not have everything.

2 - Hide the time of our last connection, the status and the profile picture

We can add a new layer to our privacy by hiding the last login date. Press the three configuration dots, and then Settings > Account > Privacy . There you can select who you show the last time you connected, your status and your photo. Again, the price of discretion is that you won't be able to see what your contacts are doing either.

3 - Become completely invisible

There are applications that allow absolute incognito. If you want to read the chats and receive your blue checks without exposing yourself, you can download StealthApp. When you install it, press Grant Access to allow the app to read WhatsApp notifications. At first you will see a blank screen, but as soon as messages start to arrive, they will appear in the Stealth App. From there you can read them without anyone knowing . If you open them, the application will give you the opportunity to open WhatsApp and continue the conversation as normal. One downside: you have to bear the small toll of advertising. The life of the ninja is hard.

WhatsApp Tricks - Read messages without connecting

4 - Send messages without connecting

If being a ninja is not enough, there is a trick to turn into a ghost and chat without entering WhatsApp . With the Hide for WhatsApp application you can send messages to your contacts, but they will not see you as connected, but the time of the last time you opened WhatsApp will appear. The application guides us at all times with a short and simple tutorial. Press the + icon at the top right, choose a contact, and send ethereal messages as if there was no tomorrow.

WhatsApp tricks Send messages without connecting

5 - How to pause the application

WhatsApp is activated from the moment we turn on the mobile, and when our contacts go into "on fire" mode we can despair with so much notification. But if we "pause" the app, you will not receive anything and your contacts will only see a check in the messages they have sent you. We can force the exit of the app through the phone settings. We go to the Mobile Applications Manager, we look for WhatsApp in the Installed Applications section, and click on Force Stop . There will be no message or notification until we enter WhatsApp again. You will recognize that from time to time a little break is good.

6 - Mention someone in a group

Sometimes groups turn into a furious cascade of messages, and chatting with a one-off member can become hell. In order not to go crazy looking for a specific intervention, we have the mentions. You just have to put an @ and then the name of the contact with whom you want to speak . That person will receive a notification and will know that you are addressing them, even if they have the group muted.

7 - Listen to audio notes in public

Voice memos are easy to send, but they don't always come at the right time. We are in a noisy place, there are many people around ... But we no longer need to look for strange positions to bring the speaker closer to our ear. We hit Play, and we put the phone to our ear, as if we were making a call. WhatsApp will detect it, and will play the audio through the headset . Easy and discreet.

8 - Send messages with Google Now

If we want to be considerate of our contacts and not overwhelm them with so much voice memo, but the keyboard and our morcillion fingers do not get along, let Google work for us. Through Google Now we can send a WhatsApp to whoever we want . You just have to open the service and say "Ok Google, send a WhatsApp to (the name of the contact) with (the content of the message)". Of course, you have to put a little care in vocalization, or we can make a rather curious message.

9 - Use voice dictation

We have another very comfortable option: voice dictation. Press the microphone key on the Android keyboard, pronounce the message and it will appear in text format . Google's voice dictation is quite fine-tuned and supports basic signs like commas, periods, questions, and exclamations. If we say "hello eat how are you interrogation" will appear "Hello, how are you?" . It is convenient to be more or less clear what is going to be said, to pause and insert the appropriate punctuation. Many times you have to correct by hand the hesitations and repetitions that escape us unconsciously, but even so it is a very fast way to write long messages in an instant.

WhatsApp Tricks - Write messages with your voice

10 - Become a beta tester for WhatsApp

Before launching any update, WhatsApp performs preliminary tests with a group of users. It is possible to join this beta tester program, test the news before anyone else and help with the development of the app. Go to the WhatsApp page in the Play Store, scroll down and you will find access to participate.

WhatsApp Tricks - Become a beta tester

11 - Always have the latest version

You can also have the latest stable version a couple of weeks before it appears in the Play Store. You have it available on the WhatsApp website for Android.

WhatsApp Tricks - Always have the latest version

12 - Know if someone has blocked us on WhatsApp

First of all, you have to know two things. The first, that the only way to know with certainty if a contact has blocked us is to ask them in person. Second, there is no application that reveals crashes . If you come across one, it is most likely a scam. But we can be guided by a series of indications. If, all of a sudden, we can't see a contact's profile picture, their status, or their last connection time, it may mean that they no longer like us. If in addition our last messages have been several days with a single tick, or they have blocked us or your mobile phone has been voided.

13 - Prevent files from downloading automatically

This trick is well known, but we are obliged to mention it because the regrets continue to happen for having exhausted the data rate before time. So that the photos, voice notes and WhatsApp videos do not eat our megabytes as if they were chocolates, we go to Settings > Data usage > Automatic download . There we can choose which files are going to open themselves , and in what connection conditions they are going to do so. This works not only when we have a weak data rate. It is also very useful when we open WhatsApp in public or at work, and we do not want an indiscreet glance to see what is shared in our group of friends.

WhatsApp Tricks - Avoid Automatic File Download

14 - Reply to messages from a pop-up window

WhatsApp offers you the possibility to reply to messages directly through a pop-up window, without having to unlock the mobile and open the application. Go to Settings , then Notifications and enable Pop-up Notifications to appear however you want: with the screen on, off or always.

15 - Get floating notifications

If you like those “chat head” notifications from Facebook Messenger, there are several applications to have them on WhatsApp as well. Among them Notifly, we can chat with the floating contact from the desktop, without others know that we are online . If you want to open WhatsApp to continue chatting there, press the square icon with an arrow at the top of the notification. In addition, Notifly supports all the applications that send notifications to the phone: Telegram, Gmail, Slack, Twitter ...

WhatsApp Tricks - Floating Notifications like Facebook Messenger

16 - Archive a conversation

With this trick we can archive conversations so as not to have the main screen cluttered. If you press and hold a chat, a box icon will appear with an arrow pointing inside it . By selecting it, you will archive the conversation. To review the archived chats, scroll all the way down and you will see the folder where they are saved. If you want to put them back on the main screen, follow the same process.

17 - Send a message to several users using a broadcast list

Groups are already old acquaintances on WhatsApp, but there is a way to send messages to several contacts without having to create a group with them. Click on the three dots in the main window, and then click on New broadcast . Choose the contacts you want and write the message. Each of them will receive it separately in a private chat.

18 - Send a WhatsApp to an unknown number without saving it

WhatsApp makes us save the numbers of the people we send messages to. If we need to say something specific to someone whose number we do not want to save (something that usually happens in professional relationships), the Mesej Je application is perfect for us. After making our way through the stormy advertising, we enter the number and write what we need. Okay, agendas are virtually endless, but we don't have to keep phones that we're not going to dial anymore either. That then you look for your friend Antonio and you have to find him between fifty-three namesakes.

WhatsApp Tricks - Send messages to an unknown number

19 - How to force the appearance of contacts just added to memory

Have you added a new contact, wanted to send him a message but WhatsApp refuses to show it in the agenda? Before pulling your hair out, press the options button, go to Settings , open the Contacts option and check the Show all box . Still can't find the ghost contact? Go to the main WhatsApp window and open the Contacts tab (Be careful! If you already have the latest update with the WhatsApp statuses, you must press the text balloon icon, above, next to the magnifying glass). Open the contact options and click Update . If this does not make that elusive number appear, scroll to the end, and click Help on contactsyou. Once inside, press the Show Invisible Contacts button . This will force a calendar update . Go back to the contact options, and click Update .

WhatsApp Tricks - Force the appearance of contacts

20 - Program automatic messages

Sometimes we forget to congratulate our friends on their birthday, or we get confused if we have to notify someone at a specific time. So that we do not have any important messages to send, there are applications to schedule the sending of messages through WhatsApp. A good example is the Messenger API Beta + Scheduler NoRoot duo, two apps that must be installed together to manage the permissions required to send deferred messages.

First we open Messenger API Beta and enable the permissions it asks for. Then we run the Scheduler, which will ask us to access the Messenger API Beta. We accept, and we can now program at will. Press the + symbol to add a schedule, give it a name to have it classified, and create the message. We can send a text or an image, if we wish. We choose the contact, the date and time, and click Add . Our message will be sent according to the schedule we have entered . Of course, the translation of the app into our language has been made by a cat walking over the keyboard.

WhatsApp Tricks - Schedule messages

21 - Create shortcut to a conversation

Do you want to have a direct access to your favorite conversations on the home screen? With widgets it is very easy. Access the list of widgets , making a long press on the desktop of your mobile. Search WhatsApp, select the chat you want and that's it. You can also do it from the application itself. Press and hold the conversation you want, click on the three dots and choose Create shortcut.

22 - Write in bold, italics and strikethrough text

You can add a lot of personality to your messages, highlight phrases and even do trolls and puns.

  • To type in bold, place the text between asterisks. * This is important * >> This is important
  • If you put the text between underscores, it will appear in italics. I love _The Walking Dead_ >> I love The Walking Dead
  • If you want to cross out a word, put it between small marks (the symbol of approximation, or "corner" of the eñe). ~ You're an idiot ~ I really like you >> You're an idiot I like you very much

23 - Use the Fixedsys font

If the bold or italics fall short, you can also change the font. WhatsApp allows the use of Fixedsys, one of the oldest and most popular fonts in the world of programming. Open and close your messages with three low marks,,, and they will be written with this font.

WhatsApp Tricks - Write with FixedSys font

24 - Mark conversations as unread

We have all received messages that we wanted to respond to, but were unable to do so at the time. So that we don't forget that we have a contact who is craving our response like May Water, we can mark their conversation as unread. We do a long press on the conversation. When the three dots appear at the top right, we choose Mark as unread, and that's it.

25 - Mark a message as starred or favorite

A very useful trick to find important messages in an instant. Within a chat, we select a message with a long press, and click on the star icon to save it. If we want to see the saved messages, in the main window we press the Options button, and then we click on Featured Messages .

26 - Use the search engine to find messages

Many know that WhatsApp has a message search engine, but very few stop to use this useful function. If someone says something important and you forgot to mark it as a favorite message, tap the chat options and then Search . Write the word or expression you want to recover, and you will no longer have to squint by scrolling in your search for the needle in the haystack.

27 - Personalized notifications for our favorite contacts

In the information of each of our contacts there is a section of personalized notifications, which we can configure so that our favorite contacts have a particular tone. In this way, when we have the mobile blocked and a WhatsApp arrives, we will know instantly who it is .

WhatsApp Tricks - Personalized Notifications

By enabling custom notifications, we can specify a specific tone, the color of the notification LED and even how long the mobile will vibrate when receiving a message. In the same way, we can choose the tone and type of vibration of the calls that our contact makes us. We just need not to get into trouble, and remember what tone belongs to each contact.

WhatsApp tricks Personalized notifications

28 - Create fake conversations that look real

Trolling is a true art, and apps like Yazzy make it a lot easier. Yazzy allows you to create WhatsApp conversations that have never happened , but that will be indistinguishable from a real chat. First of all, we must remember to remove the watermark in its Options section, or in the editing screen.

WhatsApp tricks - Create fake chats

Later, we can alter space-time with invented chats. We select the name of a contact, enter their image and specify their status carefully, to make it as realistic as possible. Then we create the messages and the time they would have been sent . We can even configure the color of the checks, the hypothetical level of WiFi and the time at which we have made the screenshot. Sparkly.

WhatsApp tricks - Create fake chats

29 - Clean all WhatsApp files

The constant transfer of videos, photos and voice notes mean that, over time, WhatsApp mercilessly devours the memory of the mobile. This overload slows down the phone more than we think, so it is convenient to clean it every so often . We can do it manually, entering the WhatsApp folder and selecting files, but the WCleaner application makes this task much more comfortable and intuitive. It allows us to delete sections or entire folders (be careful with this!), Or to enter each one of them and delete files one by one. It also allows us to manage backup copies. With the last one saved, we have enough. Our mobile will take a significant weight off it.

WhatsApp Tricks - Clean WhatsApp Files

30 - Free up space without deleting conversations

We can lighten our mobile a little more by emptying the chats . This will not kill the conversations, it will just leave them brand new, as if they were just started. Go to Options > Settings > Chats > Chat history > Clear all chats . You can also do it individually, entering the conversation and clicking on the options button. And rejoice in that moment of release.

31 - Edit photos Snapchat style

When taking a photo with the camera through WhatsApp, the application allows you to add huge emojis, draw on the image and even write. When you take the photo, an emoji icon will appear at the top of the screen. Press it, and have fun.

32 - Integrate drawings in WhatsApp

WhatsApp allows us to draw on the photos we have taken from the application, but if we want to unleash our creativity on a photo from our gallery, Paint for Whatsapp is the solution. Once installed, it fully integrates with WhatsApp. We open the gallery to attach a photo, click on the Options button and there we have it. We can draw on photos, draw plans, paint on a white background ... whatever we want.

WhatsApp Tricks - Paint over gallery photos

33 - Prevent WhatsApp from cropping the image of a group chat

Adjusting a group photo to the square cutout that WhatsApp imposes can become a daunting task. To use the image that we want without leaving anything out, we can use the WhatsCrop application. This tool maximizes the size of any photo , the block with colored stripes or a custom background, and even allows you to rotate it to better adjust what we want to show.

WhatsApp Tricks - Avoid group photo cut

34 - Recover messages deleted by accident

From time to time we want to clean up, but in the heat of the moment we can lose our finger and delete a chat that was really important. If we are quick, we can make amends for the mistake. We go to the Play Store, uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall it immediately . When we open WhatsApp again, it will give us the option to recover the backup that is stored in Google Drive. And now we can breathe easy again.

35 - Save a backup of your chats

As you can see, the utility of backups goes beyond serving as a backup when you change your mobile. In general, it is saved in Google Drive and in the phone memory from time to time, but it does not hurt to do it manually. You can generate the copy at any time by going to Settings > Chats > Backup , and clicking on the green Save button . Another trick to make sure of everything is to use a file manager to copy the WhatsApp folder to the SD card. When you need to reinstall WhatsApp , replace the folder and you will have everything back in place.

The 50 most useful tricks for WhatsApp 1

36 - How to export a conversation

If you need it, you can export a complete conversation and send it by e-mail. Enter the chat in question, press the options button and choose "Send chat by mail." A text file will be created with all the messages , their date and time of sending.

37 - How to delete messages that you regret having sent

The latest versions of WhatsApp allow you to have some control over your gaffes. If you are fast enough, you can select your message and click on the trash can icon to delete it. But we are sorry to tell you that this trick will not work if someone has already read it before. Therefore, our recommendation is calm and calm!

38 - Use WhatsApp with a different mobile number

A very obvious trick, but one that often goes unnoticed. WhatsApp only needs your number to activate the account, that is, you can enter the number of another mobile . Make sure that the SIM card of the number you want to link to WhatsApp is active and working on another phone. Install the application, enter the number, and when you receive the verification SMS, all you have to do is copy it. What's more, you can even choose a fixed number and select to have the code provided by a call.

39 - How to have two WhatsApp accounts on a single Android mobile

If we have a professional phone and another personal one, we can use WhatsApp with both numbers ... from the same mobile! First, we must have WhatsApp configured in the traditional way, with the number we want. Then, we install the Parallel Space Multi Accounts application, a utility that allows us to clone WhatsApp . The clone will stay in the Parallel Space menu, but we can put it on the desktop by long-pressing on it and dragging to the Create shortcut option .

Tricks for WhatsApp - Have two accounts with Parallel Space

In this way, the duplicate app will appear on our desktop as WhatsApp +, so that we can distinguish it without difficulty. Finally, we restart the mobile with the secondary SIM card, we link it with the cloned WhatsApp and we can now use two accounts. And don't miss a private message on your professional account!

WhatsApp Tricks - Two accounts with different numbers

40 - How to create a GIF from a video

Creating your own GIFs is a very simple task. Record a video or download the scene that you would like to convert into a GIF, open WhatsApp, press the Add icon and view the Gallery. When selecting the video, choose the fragment you want with the start and end markers , keeping in mind that the GIF loop limit is six seconds. A small camera icon will appear at the top right. Press it, and it will change to GIF. Click Send, and you can now enjoy your personalized animation.

Tricks for WhatsApp - Create GIF from video

41 - Use bots like Telegram's

Telegram users enjoy a very cool and versatile utility: bots. They are small programs that are attached to a group and offer a lot of utilities. They do not appear natively in WhatsApp, but can be entered with the qeuBot application. There are bots to make inquiries, search for news, images or GIFs. We just have to mention them, and our query will appear instantly in the chat where they are.

  • For a quick query, we have @wiki. For example, "The World of Beakman @wiki"
  • If we want to know something about cinema, we turn to @imdb, which uses the IMdB database. For example, "Christopher Nolan @imdb"
  • We can even know our horoscope with @horoscope. For example, "Taurus @horoscope"
  • If we need to know what the weather is going to be, we must call @weather. For example, "Granada @weather"

The juiciest bots, such as the one for searching GIFs and images (@gif and @pic), are only accessible upon payment.

42 - Keep all conversations and groups if you change your number

Do you want to change your telephone operator and are you afraid of losing your chats? No problem, WhatsApp allows you to migrate all your content to your new number. Go to Settings > Account > Change number , there you insert the current number and the number that you are going to use from now on.

43 - How to send empty messages

Why would we want to send an empty message on WhatsApp? For a doctorate in the fascinating art of trolling, of course. With Empty for WhatsApp we can send messages without any content to our contacts . They will hear the tinkling of the notification, they will come ready to respond ... and they will find nothing. When you uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp for the fourth time, or start thinking about buying a new phone, it may be a good time to reveal the truth. Or not.

WhatsApp Tricks - Send empty messages

44 - Restrict access to WhatsApp

When someone asks us to borrow our mobile, a chill runs through our body. Will it occur to him to snoop on our WhatsApp? To prevent this, we can protect the app with a PIN code, a pattern or the fingerprint reader , if we have one. There are phones that include utilities for this purpose, such as the App Locker that comes in many Xiaomi and OnePlus models. In any case, the Play Store offers tons of solutions, such as Lock or ChatLock +. One of the most complete is Hexlock, since it allows the use of the fingerprint reader.

45 - Enable 2-Step Verification

The two-step verification security system had been enabled in the beta version of WhatsApp for a long time, but it is finally available to all users. In short, it is about preventing someone other than you from logging in with your number on WhatsApp, thanks to your own code that we can remember with an e-mail. Open the WhatsApp options and enter Account . Click Two-Step Verification , and then click Activate . At that point you will have to enter a new six-digit code. When you try to register your number in WhatsApp, the application will ask you for that code. If you haven't taken this security measure, now is the time to do it . It is a very simple process that we will explain in more detail here.

46 - Use WhatsApp on a Tablet

WhatsApp is restricted to the field of mobiles, but that should not deter us. With WhatsTablet ”“ Messenger Tablet for WhatsApp, we can chat from our tablet . The trick is that it is an access to WhatsApp Web optimized for tablets. We synchronize it with our phone in the same way that we would with the computer: click on Options and then on WhatsApp Web . We scan the QR code of WhatsTablet, and that's it.

47 - Use WhatsApp on the computer

As you already know, you can use WhatsApp on your computer with WhatsApp Web. But if you don't want to depend on the browser or get lost among the handful of tabs that are always open, you can install the official desktop application. In reality it is nothing more than an embedded browser that works the same as WhatsApp Web, but being independent it can be used much more comfortably and facilitates multitasking or working with several desks . It is a pleasure to send WhatsApps with the PC keyboard, but don't forget that it still depends on the phone connection to work. So don't stray too far from your WiFi.

48 - Read WhatsApp without looking at the screen

If there is a hands-free option to make calls without leaving what we are doing, why wouldn't there be a trick that would do the same with WhatsApp? Indeed, it exists. The Hands-Free application for WhatsApp will read our messages when we have our hands full of cake batter, when we are getting dressed in a hurry because we are late for an appointment, or even when we are driving and we should not take our eyes off the road. To start the application, press the speaker until it turns green, and we can return to the desktop leaving the app open in the background. When you receive a message, be it private or from a group, the familiar and cheerful voice of Google will speak the contact's name and text .

Tricks for WhatsApp - Hands-free to read messages without looking at the screen

49 - Delete the WhatsApp account ...

When uninstalling WhatsApp, the history that we have until that moment will remain on the servers, waiting for us to return. Deleting the account is a more drastic step, and involves the disappearance of all messages and groups, and it will not be possible to restore them by copying Google Drive. If that is what you want, you have to open the options, enter the Account section , click on Delete account , and confirm that you want to delete the account.

Tricks for WhatsApp - Delete the account permanently

50 -… and consider installing Telegram

WhatsApp is the most used messaging application, and its latest updates seek to battle with other services such as Snapchat, but it still has a good number of weaknesses and shortcomings. In addition, the fact that the giant Facebook is behind can make more than one uncomfortable. However, there are very complete alternatives that are ascending at a slow but steady pace, such as Telegram . If you have considered exploring other possibilities to chat with your contacts, we hope this comparison will be useful for you.