Best ways to use WhatsApp to its full potential

WhatsApp is a popular messaging app used by over two billion people worldwide to stay in touch with their friends and family. In addition to basic messaging, WhatsApp also offers a variety of features and tools that can help you stay connected and organized. This blog post will share tips and tricks for getting the most out of WhatsApp. Whether you are a seasoned user or new to the app, you will definitely find something useful in these suggestions. So without further ado, let’s dive in and explore some of the best ways to use WhatsApp to its full potential!

Change backup schedule and settings

It is essential for users to check their backup settings regularly, because users may have an important conversation that they don’t want to lose.

• Tap the three-dot button in the corner of your screen.
• Tap Settings.
• Tap Chats.
• Scroll down and tap Chat backup.
• Tap Back up to create a backup immediately.

See who reads group messages

Users can finally see who reads their group messages. In a group chat on WhatsApp, you can see if someone has read your message by seeing two blue checkmarks next to it. However, this symbol will only appear once everyone in the group has read the message. To see who has read the message and who has not, you can follow these steps:

• Tap and hold the targeted message.
• Tap the (i) button at the top of the screen.

  By doing this, you can see who has read your message and when they read it.

Control text features

You can bold, italicize, strikethrough, or monospaced text in WhatsApp, using one of the following ways:

Know how much data you used

You can now know how much data you used: WhatsApp gives you a detailed breakdown of where your data usage comes from. All you have to do is to follow these steps:

• Tap the three-dot button in the upper-right corner of your screen.
• Tap Settings.
• Tap Storage and data.
• Tap Network usage.

Customize the chat wallpaper for certain contacts

Another new feature in WhatsApp is that users can customize the chat wallpaper for certain contacts, and this wallpaper is not visible to the other user. Follow the steps below:

• Open the conversation.
• Tap the three-dot button in the corner.
• Tap Wallpaper.
• Tap a category and select a wallpaper.
• Continue to choose the wallpaper and apply it.

Create a group poll

Users can also create a group poll: this is useful if you want to ask your group chat a question without filling the conversation with replies that may be hard to track. Users are allowed to add up to 12 potential answers. To create a poll in a WhatsApp group, follow these steps:

• Open the WhatsApp group chat where you want to create the poll.
• Tap on the + icon in the bottom left corner of the chat window.
• Select “Poll” from the menu that appears.
• Enter the question you want to ask in the “Poll question” field.
• Add the options for the poll by tapping on the “Add option” button. You can add up to four options.
• Tap on the “Send” button to create the poll.

Note: You need to be an administrator of the group in order to create a poll. If you are not an administrator, you will not see the “Poll” option in the menu.

Video call up to 32 people

Users can now video call up to 32 people on WhatsApp. To make a video call on WhatsApp, you will need to have the app installed on your device and be connected to the internet. To start a video call with your friends on WhatsApp, follow these steps:

• Open the WhatsApp app on your device.
• Tap the “Calls” tab at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap the “New call” button in the top right corner of the screen.
• Select the people you want to invite to the video call from your contacts list. You can select up to 32 people to join the call.
• Tap the “Video call” button to start the video call.
• Once the video call has started, you will be able to see and hear your friends.

Customize your notification settings

Another useful tip is to customize your notification settings so that you only receive notifications for the chats that are most important to you. This can be especially helpful if you’re part of a large group chat or if you have multiple conversations going on at once. To customize your notification settings:

•  Go to Settings.
•  Tap Notifications
• Select the chats you want to receive notifications for.

You can also set custom ringtones or vibration patterns for individual chats, so you know which chat is trying to get your attention.

Clear out your chat history and media files

First, let’s start with some basic tips for optimizing your WhatsApp experience. One simple but often overlooked trick is to periodically clear out your chat history and media files. This can help free up storage space on your device and make it easier to find and access important conversations. You can do this by going to the following:

• Tap Settings
• Select Data and storage usage
• Tap Manage storage

 From there, you can select individual chats or groups to delete or choose to clear your entire chat history at once.

Create and join communities within the app

WhatsApp now allows users to create and join communities within the app. A community is a group chat with members who can share messages, photos, and videos, and participate in voice and video calls. Users can create a community by going to the “Chats” tab and tapping the “New Group” button or joining an existing community by tapping on an invitation link or scanning a QR code. The communities feature is useful for connecting with others and sharing information with a large group of people.

Starred Messages

We often need to return to a conversation to get to a specific message, phone number, email or link easily and quickly. Therefore, you can star messages in WhatsApp to refer back to them later.

To do so, click on the message, then press the star icon. Upon returning to see the star-rated messages: press the “Menu” button> “Starred Messages”.

Mute Chats

You may have a meeting and need to mute an individual or group chat in WhatsApp to avoid, for example, the inconvenience caused by group conversations that you have no choice to leave.

Long click on the chat, choose the speaker icon at the top of the screen and select how long to mute notifications.

Hide or Archive Chats

WhatsApp allows you to archive any chat, and that does not mean to delete it but to hide it from the chat screen for the sake of organizing your conversations or keeping them out of prying eyes.

To archive conversations or individual chats, long press on the chat and choose the Archive icon from the top of the screen. If you want to access it again, scroll down and click on the “Archived Chats” tab to view the archives.

Pin Your Favorite Chat

You can pin your top friends or chat groups at the top of the WhatsApp home screen for easy access. Do this by holding into the chat and clicking the “Pin Chat” icon.

Get Shortcuts to Specific Conversations

Chat History

WhatsApp gives you several options concerning your chat history, including:

• “Archive All Chats” If you want to hide all chats without deleting them
• “Clear All Chats” If you want to keep all the contacts and chats, but you want to get rid of all of their content”
• “Delete All Chats” If you want to have WhatsApp as clear of chats and contacts as a new one.

There is nothing more annoying than seeing those blue ticks appear unanswered afterward. If you want to torture yourself a little more and discover when your message has already been read and how long it has been ignored, you can click and hold the message long and choose “info” to see details of who has read the message and when.

Hide “Last Seen”, “Profile Photo”, “Online” or “Status”

You may prefer to be unfound on WhatsApp by friends or to have some discovered that you ignored some of their messages or postponed replies to others. So, WhatsApp enables you to hide the last time you checked WhatsApp: “Settings”> “Account”> “Privacy”.

Find Out with Whom you Talk the Most on WhatsApp

Who is your favorite person? It may be contrary to your expectations. Find the person you prefer to chat with the most on WhatsApp by knowing how much storage space each person takes among other things. Go to “Settings”> “Data and Storage Usage “> “Storage Usage”. From here you will know various statistics such as the number of exchanged messages, pictures and others.

Not Saving Photos and Videos Automatically

You may be annoyed that WhatsApp automatically saves all media files, including photos, videos, GIFs and audio files because it takes up a lot of storage and data. But don’t worry, WhatsApp gives you the option to prevent the automatic saving of photos and videos. Settings> Chats> Media Visibility.

Group Chats

Adding you to a lot of groups is something annoying. Thus, WhatsApp has added features that enable you to change the groups’ settings through “Settings”> “Account”> “Privacy”> “Groups”> “Everyone”, “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except…”.

When you receive an invitation link to a group from a friend you have allowed to do so, WhatsApp gives you 3 days to accept or decline the invitation.

Recover Deleted Messages

If you want to read a message that has been deleted by mistake or not, you can restore it by uninstalling the app and then installing it again. From here, you choose to restore the backup copy of the application’s chats that you have previously done. If this option is approved, deleted messages can be recovered automatically.

But in the absence of a backup copy, you can recover and know the content of deleted messages by installing some applications such as WAMR App that restores any message that is deleted on WhatsApp, not to mention other apps that you can download to your computer and connect it to your phone to recover all data from WhatsApp.

Add Dates to Your Calendar Automatically

iOS: Press and hold date within chat > Create Event.

Set a Password

Because you spend a lot of time on WhatsApp chatting, sending photos and files and running some of your business, you need to ensure that no one around can access your messages. Yet, WhatsApp does not give the advantage of setting a password within the app, so you have to use other password apps, such as AppLock on Android.

It is worth noting that WhatsApp provides the “Two-Step Verification” feature, which requires a PIN when registering your phone number with WhatsApp again. When you change your phone and want to use the same account again, WhatsApp requires the password that you previously entered. That is will help that no one will be able to impersonate you even when using your phone.

Create a Group Broadcast

WhatsApp provides the ability to exchange messages through the group broadcast feature, which allows you to send the same message to many people at the same time and reach them individually. “More”> “New broadcast “ and then select the contacts you want to add.

Are You Blocked in WhatsApp?

There are many ways to discover if a specific user has blocked you on WhatsApp:

• Hidden of the contact’s picture, status and last seen features despite appearing naturally to others.
• Not being able to send messages to that contact.
• Only one tick (√) appears when sending the content despite the user’s availability on the app.
• Not being able to add that person to any group you want.

Put Your Phone Aside and Stay Online

You can use WhatsApp without having to keep your phone running by using WhatsApp Web.

Scan the activation code shown on the browser with your phone to connect, and then the WhatsApp interface opens on your computer with all the messages and contact lists you have. You can start texting and chatting via your Web. However, to continue using WhatsApp Web, it is necessary to keep your phone connected.

In this regard, how do you discover if someone else is spying on your messages? Through WhatsApp Web, a list of devices that have logged in on this account appears. Whenever you suspect a device that has logged into your account, press “Log out from all devices” to secure your account.

Change Your Wallpaper

To change the background in WhatsApp, go to settings in WhatsApp> Chats>Wallpaper.

You can choose from your “Wallpaper library” or “your Gallery” or set the wallpaper as “Solid Colors”.

Reply to a Group Message Privately.

It is possible to respond to someone’s message privately by pressing a message in a group conversation> choose from the “More” menu> “Reply Privately”.

Write Your Message Without Touching Your Keyboard

WhatsApp has integrated the dictation feature into the app to make things easier for its users. Choose the contact you wish to send to and click on the black microphone icon to the left of the Android keyboard.

Shortcut Your Favorite Contact

Do you want to quickly reach a specific contact without having to log in and search for it in the app in the midst of many of your daily WhatsApp conversations? You can now create a shortcut to a contact as an icon alongside other application icons on the home screen. When pressed, it takes you to the conversation directly. Long press the Chat and choose “Add Chat Shortcut”.

Otherwise, you can customize the notifications for your favorite contact on WhatsApp, giving WhatsApp the ability to change the tone or the notification lamp lighting to have it distinguished.

Disable Read Receipts

This feature helps you when you do not wish your friends to know that you have read their messages to avoid embarrassment. You can disable the message reading ticks through “Settings”> “Account”> “Privacy”> Disable ” Read Receipts“.

You can also delay the reply to a message by marking it the unread via a green flag that will appear next to it to remind you to reply later: Click on the More option and choose “Mark as Unread.”

There is also another trick in which you can read WhatsApp messages without having the person aware. Activate the flight mode on the phone, and then read the message and exit from WhatsApp before returning your phone to its normal mode.

Enable Touch ID or Face ID

For iOS 9 and newer, you can enable Touch ID or Face ID on WhatsApp. Despite having WhatsApp locked, you can still reply to messages from notifications and answer calls.

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Account > Privacy > Screen Lock.
3. Turn on Require Touch ID or Require Face ID.
4. Select the length of time WhatsApp can be on standby mode before Touch ID or Face ID is required.

How to Send Your Location via WhatsApp

You do not have to bother to describe your location to a friend or colleague. The direct location feature in WhatsApp allows you to share your current location with your friends in an individual or group chat while specifying the length of time for the sharing of the location. Once the time expires or you stop sharing the location, it will not appear to others anymore.

It should be mentioned that this feature is subject to the end-to-end encryption feature in order to provide security for your location.

Voice Message

Of course, you do not want to be embarrassed when you hear a voice message while you do not have a headset. To avoid this, you can simply press the sent audio file and quickly place the phone on your ear as if you were on a call. Then the phone will intelligently switch the audio output from the main speaker to the earpiece so that only you can hear it.

If the phone is far from your ear, and the screen turns black, but you still cannot hear the audio message through the main speaker, it may be because your finger or part of your hand affects the proximity sensor. Therefore, you should change the way you hold the phone.

Have Your WhatsApp Chat As a Bubble

Would you like to see your chat on WhatsApp in front of you while browsing through your other phone applications? There are some applications that display the notification contained in a bubble, where the content of the notification will be displayed in a popup window that also has a direct reply facility. This enables you to quickly respond to all of your chats. Yet, you cannot transfer files via this quick window. See What’s Bubble Chat 2020 as an example.

Run More Than One WhatsApp Account on Your Device

The operating systems for smart devices do not allow the installation and use of more than one version of social media applications at the same time on your device. Because many have more than one account in various applications, you go for a web browser or buying two phones to log into the other account. Very annoying!

However, WhatsApp launched WhatsApp Business, which is a similar WhatsApp app dedicated to managing your professional conversations. For more details about WhatsApp Business, read here.

You also have another option, which is to clone your app (for Android users)! and when you download an app such as Numero eSIM for virtual numbers, you can access two or more accounts on the cloned apps installed on your phone, especially WhatsApp. Most importantly, activating it with another number will not be an obstacle because you can activate WhatsApp using a virtual phone number.

After All

Did you have any idea about all or some of the previously mentioned potentials? Or have you discovered many through this article? Do you have other potentials that you would like to share with us? Waiting for your comment. Run More Than One WhatsApp Account on Your Device Using Numero’s Virtual Numbers!