WhatsApp Tricks And Tips 2024

WhatsApp Chats tips and tricks

Reference and reply to a specific message

Ever been talking about multiple things in a WhatsApp chat and need to reply to a specific message? WhatsApp allows you to reply to a particular message, presenting it above your reply to make it easy for the person or people you are messaging to see what you are replying to.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Swipe left to right on message > Type in your reply and hit send.

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Long Press > Hit reply.

Reply to a group message privately

It's possible to reply to a group message privately in your one-to-one chat, without having to find the one-to-one chat you have with that particular person.

iOS: Press and hold a message in a group chat > Select More > Reply Privately. The message will appear in your one-to-one chat with the text box below, as it does if you reply to a specific message like above.

Android: Press and hold a message in a group chat > Select the three buttons in the top right corner > Reply Privately. The message will appear in your one-to-one chat with the text box below, as it does if you reply to a specific message like above.

Turn words bold, italic or strikethrough

Sometimes certain words need more emphasis and shouty caps just don't cut it. Don't worry, WhatsApp allows you to make whichever words or phrases you want bold, italic, or strikethrough them altogether.

iOS & Android: Add an asterisk either side of the word or phrase for *bold*. Add an underscore either side of the word or phrase for _italic_. Add a tildes to either side of the word or phase for ~strikethrough~.

Send a voice message

Don't have time to write out a lengthy reply or just can't be bothered to? No problem. WhatsApp allows you to send voice messages to your contacts which is great if you're walking somewhere for example, making constant typing a bit of a pain.

iOS & Android: Chats > Specific chat > Tap the microphone on the right of the message box > Press and hold the microphone while you record your message. Warning, it send automatically after you lift your finger off.

Send a voice note without hands

If you want to send a voice note on WhatsApp, rather than writing out a message, you can press and hold the microphone on the right of the message input box. It's also possible to lock the microphone button down so you can record your message without having to hold your phone.

iOS & Android: Chats > Specific chat > Tap the microphone on the right of the message box > Press and hold the microphone > Swipe up to the lock. The microphone will then be locked on record until you send the message. You can preview the voice note before you send it this way, as well as pause and carry on.

Speed up playback of a voice message

You can speed up playback of a voice message by 1.5x or 2x, allowing you to listen to longer messages quicker. It's simple to do and it doesn't change the pitch of the person's voice.

iOS & Android: Chats > Specific chat > Tap the play icon next to the voice message you want to speed up > Tap on the 1x icon that appears to make it 1.5x > Tap 1.5x to make it 2x faster > Tap the 2x icon to change back to 1x.

Mark chats as unread

Ever been out and about, read a chat and then completely forgot to reply? We do it all the time. There is a way to mark important chats with dot to remind you to go back to it though.

iOS: Chats > Swipe left to right > Mark as Unread.

Android: Long press chat > Open Menu > Mark as Unread.

Pin a chat to the top

If you're prone to forgetting to reply to messages, you can also pin a chat so it appears at the top of all your chats, including above new and unread chats, rather than just marking it as unread. It's only possible to pin three chats though so don't get too complacent with your replying.

iOS: Chats > Swipe left to right > Pin Chat.

Android: Long press chat > Press the pin at the top of the screen.

Mute a chat or group chat

Group chats can be the worst. You might not be able to leave the conversation, but you can mute notifications so you aren't awakened every time someone throws in their two cents.

iOS: Chats > Open the group chat / chat > Tap the subject to get the Group Info / Contact Info screen > Mute > Select how long you want to mute it for. You can choose between 8 hours, 1 week or Always.

Android: Chats > Open chat > Menu button > Mute.

Archive your chats

Archive Chat allows you to hide a conversation from your Chats screen. It does not delete the chat - it just allows you to remove it from your main chat screen without losing it, helping you organise your conversations.

You can archive groups or individual chats, and they will disappear until you pull down from the top of the Chats display and tap the Archived Chats tab. You can also archive all chats.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Swipe right to left > Archive / Settings > Chats > Archive All Chats.

Android: Chats > Long press on chat > Press the archive folder at top right of the screen

Back up your chats

To make sure you don't lose any of your chats if you lose your device or you switch devices, make sure you back up your chats to iCloud or Google Drive. Be aware that archived chats are no longer encrypted.

iOS & Android: Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Back Up Now.

Move WhatsApp chats from iOS to Android

It used to be very difficult to move from your WhatsApp chats from iOS to Android, though it has been made easier now thankfully.

iOS: Settings > Chats > Move Chats to Android > Follow the steps.

Clear all chats

If you want to keep all the contacts you are chatting with on your WhatsApp but you want to clear all your messages, WhatsApp gives you an easy option to do this.

iOS: Settings > Chats > Clear All Chats.

Delete all chats

Want a clean WhatsApp slate? Start from scratch by deleting all of your chats. It means you'll get rid of everything though, not just the content of the chats but you'll have to start a new chat for every contact too.

iOS: Settings > Chats > Delete All Chats.

Delete or clear a specific chat

If you want to clear or delete a specific chat without losing all of your chats, then it's possible to do this too.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Swipe right to left > Tap the three dots > Clear Chat / Delete Chat.

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Tap the menu top right > More > Clear Chat

Bookmark important messages

Some messages are more important than others. Whether it's a date you need to remember, or a good restaurant you've been recommended. It's possible to bookmark these messages and find them all easily in the Starred Messages section.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Double tap or hold down and press star.

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Hold down and press star.

Delete a specific message within a chat

Just as you can star a specific message within a chat, you can also delete a specific message within a chat. You can also "delete for everyone" but you have to do this within 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds.

Choosing delete for everyone will also result in a message appearing in the chat saying the message has been deleted which although looks suspicious, could be better than whatever message you sent in the first place.

iOS & Android: Chats > Specific chat > Press and hold on specific message you want to delete > Press Delete.

Send a public message privately

Ever had a free evening and wanted to ask several of your friends if they are around without having to open up each chat to ask them separately?

You can send a broadcast message to a list of contacts with it appearing as though you've asked them individually. Great for saving time, terrible if they all reply yes.

iOS: Chats > Broadcast Lists > New List > Add contacts.

Android: Chats > Menu > New Broadcast.

Find out how long you've been ignored for

There is nothing more annoying than seeing those blue ticks appear without a reply following soon after. If you want to torture yourself a little more and find out when your message was actually read and how long you've been ignored for, you can. We don't advise it though.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Swipe right to left.

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Press and hold > Tap the info "i" icon at the top.

Pocket-lint

WhatsApp convenience and notification tips and tricks

Get Siri to read your last message, reply or send a new message

Apple users can get Siri to read any unread WhatsApp messages, once you have followed the steps to give the personal assistant access. You can also get Siri to reply to the message with your voice or start a new message to a contact.

iOS: "Hey Siri, read my last WhatsApp message" > "Hey Siri, send a WhatsApp message to [contact]"

See recent chats without opening WhatsApp

Apple users can see which contacts they have unread messages from without opening the WhatsApp app by adding the WhatsApp Recent Chats widget to their device. Up to four of your latest chats will appear within the recent chats widget when you swipe left to right from your main home screen or lock screen.

The widget shows the circular profile picture icon with a number of how many unread chats you have from that particular contact. You can then click on the chat you want to read and WhatsApp will open on that specific chat.

iOS: Swipe left to right from your lock screen or your main home screen > Scroll down to the Edit icon at the bottom > Add the WhatsApp Recent Chats icon > Rearrange the order of your widgets.

Customise notifications

There might be certain contacts you want to know instantly if they are calling or messaging you. To make sure they don't blend into the crowd, you can change their specific alert tones so you recognise when that particular person has sent you a message or is WhatsApp calling you.

iOS & Android: Chats > Specific chat > Tap on contact name at top > Custom Tone.

Get shortcuts to specific conversations

Do you have a few extra special people you talk to all the time via WhatsApp? We do too. You can create a shortcut for specific conversations on Android, making it easier to access those chats you need all the time.

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Menu > More > Add Shortcut or Chats > Press and hold individual chat > Menu > Add Chat Shortcut.

Add dates to your calendar automatically

If you're prone to forgetting dates mentioned in various chats, it's possible to automatically create an event directly from WhatsApp on iOS.