If you are one of those who are glued to WhatsApp, you will know WhatsApp Web very well. It is a version of the messaging application intended for computers. It is not an application itself, but a mirror of what happens on your mobile. Enough to have all the chats, emoticons, photos and messages directly on the big screen of a computer. And with the convenience of typing from a full physical keyboard. Even being able to use the mouse. Well, if you have come this far it is because you are interested in getting even more out of this tool . And we are going to please you with a few tips and tricks that will help you use it like a true professional.
Always on, always connected
The first is the first. You must understand that what happens on WhatsApp Web is not independent. It is, as we said, a mere reflection of what happens in the WhatsApp application on your mobile. And this is good and at the same time it is bad.
On the one hand it is good because the operation is really simple. We only need to scan the QR code of the WhatsApp Web page from the application. And that's it. Instantly we have all our chats and messages on the "big screen". No need to download applications, register phone numbers, create links with codes and numbers ... It's simple, direct and most intuitive.
On the other hand, the bad thing is that it constantly requires our mobile. That is, the terminal is turned on and with WhatsApp running. Or what is the same: the mobile must have a charge and remain active, and also the data connection must be stable (Internet). Otherwise WhatsApp Web will not work, and it will not show the new messages received, nor will it allow us to send others. Something very different from what happens with the Telegram desktop application, which works independently, although for this it is necessary to log in or sign with our user in a more tedious way.
With this clear, we can now start to get the most out of WhatsApp Web in different situations. Tips and tricks of WhatsApp Web that will help you not only to be a comfortable tool when writing, but also to make sure that your WhatsApp account is secure or even to telecommute , if necessary.
How to know if they spy on us
This tip or advice should only be used to do good. And is that the simplicity of WhatsApp Web closely touches the privacy of the user. Thus, it can be used to spy . But also as a sneak to know if they are spying on us in any case.
By opening WhatsApp Web on a foreign computer such as the university, the office, the parlor or a foreign laptop, for example, we are giving the owner of the computer access to our conversations and messages. Remember: if your mobile is still on and connected, no one prevents the person who owns the computer from continuing to see or even interact with your conversations . Now, there is a very simple way to know on which computer you have logged into WhatsApp Web.
You just have to open the WhatsApp application on your mobile and display the settings menu in the upper right corner. Here you will find the WhatsApp Web menu. Enter it to find all the open sessions of this service. That is, wherever you have scanned a QR code to have your account at hand in the comfort of a large screen and a physical keyboard.
Please review thoroughly all the sessions that appear here. Look at the connection hours of these sessions, and check them with your use of WhatsApp. If it was you who used WhatsApp in those moments, there will be no problem. But it is a good clue to know if someone has usurped you . In addition, you can attend to the operating system of the computer for each session. It is another way of discriminating if it is your computers or those of other people that are using your account. Again, check which could be a "spy".
And, once those spy sessions are located, you just have to click on them and choose the option to close . In this way, direct access from those computers to our WhatsApp accounts is cut off. If you want to make sure even more that no one has access of any kind to your account thanks to WhatsApp Web, we recommend that you close all sessions. Something that is done quickly with the function present on this same screen. Of course, the next time you go to use WhatsApp Web on your computer, you will have to scan the QR code again. But it's a worthwhile security measure.
Connection failure in WhatsApp Web, how to fix it?
Again, that WhatsApp Web is a reflection of the mobile has its good and bad points. One of the negatives is that it depends on the Internet connection of both the computer where the service is active, and the mobile phone with which it is linked. And this usually generates different connection problems to keep everything working correctly. Surely you have come across the WhatsApp Web message more than once that says that the mobile is not connected to the Internet , despite being correctly connected. These are congenital WhatsApp Web problems that appear from time to time.
If you notice that it fails, or WhatsApp Web constantly warns you that your mobile is not connected, make sure to change the type of connection of the terminal. Go from your WiFi network to your data connection , or vice versa. You do not need to consume data from your rate, it is the change in connectivity that forces the system to recognize that the mobile is connected and that WhatsApp Web should show the new incoming messages.
Read messages without activating the double blue check
Another of the virtues of WhatsApp Web is to read previews of new messages. Or what is the same: see the content of messages without having to trigger the double blue check . That alert that alerts the other person that we have already seen or read the message they have sent us. Of course, it is not as comfortable as doing it on the mobile. But this way you can scrutinize what they have sent you on the computer.
There are two formulas. One is to take advantage of the WhatsApp Web notification system in the Google Chrome Internet browser. If you activate notifications as suggested by the service, in the upper left corner of the window, you will see them appear with each new message in the lower right corner . The complete message does not appear, but you can have a good dose of the information that is waiting for you on WhatsApp Web.
But the real trick is in the mouse pointer. In this case, if we leave the pointer for a few seconds on a conversation with pending messages, we can read the last shared one. Thanks to the contextual menu of the pointer, we will have access to the last line of chat text . Of course, photos and videos will not be displayed. Nor are older new messages. But it is a resource that you must know.
Use WhatsApp Web on a tablet
Of course, when we refer to WhatsApp Web, it is not only possible to use it on the computer. The tablets are also useful devices to make use of this tool. After all, they also have Internet browsers. So, if you have one of these devices and you want to have access to your chats on a screen bigger than that of your mobile, you can take advantage of it.
All you need is to enter the WhatsApp Web page, as if you were doing it on a computer. This is how the QR code will appear , ready to be scanned with your mobile, from its WhatsApp Web function.
By doing this you will have the same experience as on the computer. Of course, you will not have the same screen size or the same keyboard. Also, new message notifications may not appear as quickly. Especially if the tablet is in sleep or off .
Send photos and files between mobile and tablet
The link between your mobile and the computer on which you have logged into WhatsApp Web may be much more interesting than you think. And it is not only a reflection of your chats on the big screen, it is also a direct channel for sending messages, photos and videos . A good utility when you want to take some content from your mobile to your computer, or vice versa.
For this you will have to create a special contact with whom to share all this content through a chat. You can save your own phone number in the contact book and start chatting with yourself. This will be the transmission channel.
For example, you do not have to send yourself several photos by email, or upload files and documents to services such as Google Drive or Dropbox from your mobile phone and then collect them on the computer in the same services. It is much faster and more practical to send a shipment by WhatsApp.
Of course, keep in mind that you can only share messages (links and texts), photographs, videos and documents. Although from the computer to the mobile you can also share some types of files more. Of course, without cables or other services .
WhatsApp Web keyboard shortcuts
Having a complete and physical keyboard on which to type is not only comfortable to write more agile or with more comfort. It also allows you to use commands to carry out quick actions. From creating a new chat, to marking as read, or even quickly silencing a conversation is possible if we know the key combination . Here we leave you a good list for you to practice and learn. You will see how you gain speed to use WhatsApp Web like a professional.
Ctrl + P: Open profile
Ctrl + Shift + M: Mute chat
Ctrl + Shift + U: Mark as unread
Ctrl + N: Create a new chat
Ctrl + Shift +]: Next chat
Ctrl + Shift + [: Previous chat
Ctrl + E: Archive chat
Ctrl + Space: Delete chat
Ctrl + Shift + N: Create new group
Shortcut on WhatsApp Web desktop
On mobile phones, WhatsApp is shown as an icon that takes us directly to the chat screen, where we have all available conversations. It is something practical and fast that is not generally found in computers. And, to enter WhatsApp Web, it is necessary to open the Internet browser and type the web address. Or so you thought. We can actually also create a shortcut to take to the desktop . In this way, we would only have to click on it to open a tab with WhatsApp Web.
To do this, you just have to open WhatsApp Web normally in a browser tab. Once this is done, we will display the browser menu (Google Chrome) in the three points in the upper right corner, and here we access the More tools section. The contextual menu that appears has the Create Direct Access function , we click on it and give a name to which will be its icon. We accept the action and that's it. We already have the icon we were looking for on the desktop.
A double click to start the shortcut directly opens a tab with WhatsApp Web ready to be used. If we also keep the session open on the computer where we have created it, we can start chatting instantly. Remember that when you create this shortcut, you can mark the option to open as a new tab or as a new window itself . Whatever you find most useful.
Quick search for Emoji emoticons
There is something more complicated in WhatsApp Web than in its mobile version. And it is navigating the Emoji emoticon menu. And, in this case, using a finger to quickly scroll through the collections of emoticons is the most convenient. However, in this cheat article we have a formula to solve this.
Simply type the colon ":" in a message. Thus, while you are composing, you can write the symbol and then a word that describes the Emoji emoticon you want to use. WhatsApp Web will quickly suggest a collection of emoticons related to the word you have written next to the colon. Try typing ": heart" to find all the emoticons related to this icon. In this way, you only have to click on the emoticon you want to add it to the message. Much faster and more comfortable than going section by section looking for the expression you want to launch in the message.
Use two WhatsApp accounts on WhatsApp Web
Google's Internet browser, Google Chrome, has several very interesting extra add-ons. One of them is the incognito mode, which allows you to browse the Internet without collecting cookies or leaving any type of record on the computer about our activity. But the interesting thing is that you can have a browser tab open in the usual way, and a second tab in incognito mode . Which enables us to have two WhatsApp Web accounts open at the same time, on the same computer and with the ease of jumping between one and the other just by changing the tab.
To do this, you just have to open WhatsApp Web in a tab on a regular basis, scanning the QR code to have direct access to your chats. Then, in Google Chrome, click on the three points in the upper right corner. In the menu that appears, the option Open new Incognito window is listed, click and re-enter the WhatsApp Web page.
This time we will have to have a second phone number and a second WhatsApp account. Something common when we have two lines, personal and work, for example. Well, we go to the mobile with the WhatsApp at work, we open the settings in the upper right corner and click on WhatsApp Web. We scan the QR code of the incognito tab and that's it .
We already have the two WhatsApp accounts, personal and work (or whatever), working at the same time on WhatsApp Web. Each one in a tab. The real challenge is not to miss the point.
Have WhatsApp Web hidden
If you use WhatsApp at work and you don't want your boss to catch you, there is a way to do it. Although it is somewhat more elaborate than the tricks seen so far. It consists of installing the Watoolkit extension in Google Chrome. A tool that takes advantage of the way WhatsApp Web works and adds a couple of interesting functions.
Among them is the possibility of receiving notifications of incoming messages as happens in WhatsApp Web, but without having this tab open. Thus, no one will be able to blame us that we are reviewing the messages at work, for example. But we can read or know who is speaking to us at all times thanks to the small notification that appears in the lower right corner .
Another interesting function of Watoolkit is to be able to read the latest messages from the notice of its icon in the upper right corner, in the Chrome toolbar itself. This shows the WaToolkit icon and a number that refers to the number of unread messages available. Well, if we move the mouse pointer over the notification, without clicking anywhere, we can read the latest messages that have been sent to us. Without firing the double blue check and without having to open a tab to show WhatsApp Web .
To get Watoolkit you just have to go to the Google Chrome extensions store and click on install . The process is automatic and only takes a couple of seconds. With this, the icon will appear in the Chrome bar, just on the right side.