(Pocket-Lint) – There is always a learning curve when it comes to mastering apps, and WhatsApp is no different. It’s wickedly popular and extremely easy to start using right away, but it does have a few quirks that aren’t immediately obvious at first. There are also a few hidden features that are not easy to enable.
If you’re already familiar with the basics, check out our guide to the secret WhatsApp tips and tricks you may not know.
We’ve seen everything you need to know about WhatsApp to get started right now.
What is WhatsApp and how does it work?
WhatsApp is an instant messaging app that Facebook acquired in 2014. The app is available for iPhone and Android devices as well as a desktop app for Windows and macOS. It is available on the web in any browser.
It works alongside your phone contacts. If you have someone you know, you can contact them. Once installed, you’ll be asked to enter your mobile phone number – it basically works from it, so it’s always linked to your phone number.
First and foremost, WhatsApp is a chat app. You will usually use it to send things like text messages, pictures, videos and even documents. It works on the Internet, so it will use your data allowance if you are not on Wi-Fi
You can message people individually or you can create groups – and even though competitors like Apple’s message and Facebook’s own messenger are able to do the same thing, it’s what people find most useful. It can also be used for voice calls and video calls.
Currently, WhatsApp has no ads and is free after scrapping the annual subscription charge a few years ago.
For security, WhatsApp messages and calls are encrypted end-to-end. All messages, photos, videos, files and calls are fully protected – only the sender and receiver of any message will be able to see the content. Even WhatsApp can’t access the content of the message. You can also secure the app with a PIN (known as two-step verification).
How to use WhatsApp
WhatsApp has a menu bar that runs at the bottom of all screens in the app. It has the following five tabs: Status, Call, Camera, Chat, and Settings Tap any tab to access a new screen and related features and settings.
Status is really a bit useless and enables you to choose a status to show contacts. It could be – “I’m in a meeting all day” or “Just chat, don’t call”. 6 kinds of things. You can also use it to share photos, videos, text and links that disappear after 24 hours, like Instagram stories. In fact, very few people use it.
Calls shows you your recent call list for both voice and video – all WhatsApp calls you’ve made and missed.
Chat is the main tab. This is a running log of all your active messages To start a new chat with a single friend, tap the draft icon in the top right corner, or you can tap “New Group” to start a group chat with 512 people at once. Each group has one or more administrators (if you start a group you are the administrator, although you can hire others).
You may also notice a feature called Broadcast List under Chat. Broadcast messaging lets you send a message to multiple people at once without disclosing the recipients. It’s like bcc (blind carbon copy) from email, and each recipient can respond to you individually. People need to be in their contacts to see the message.
The ability to create broadcast lists enables you to save a saved list of contacts to whom you send broadcast messages. To send a broadcast message to a specific contact, that person must have your phone number saved in their address book.
The fifth and final tab is Settings. Under this screen, you’ll find privacy options, ways to change your notification alerts, network usage statistics, a tool for chat archiving, the option to lock WhatsApp, and many more things like disappearing messages.
How to message on WhatsApp
While in the chat window with friends or groups, you can send anything from photos to audio files. Tap the text field at the bottom of the chat to bring up a keyboard and compose a message, or tap the “+” sign on the left for more options.
To “+” take a photo / video or send one from your library, you need to bring options for sharing a location or a contact. You can also send or take a picture by tapping the camera icon to the right of the text field in the chat.
There’s also a mic symbol to the right of the text field that you can tap to record and send an audio message.
You can also send GIF Or Sticker.
How to make a video or voice call on WhatsApp
To make a call, go to the Call tab and click on the telephone icon at the top right Select the contact you want, and then tap the telephone or video icon.
During any video call you have the option to return the voice call and / or turn off your video to mute your microphone. Similarly, you can ‘upgrade’ a voice call to video by enabling your camera
Want a group call? Select new group call. Check out our complete guide to WhatsApp group calling.
Use WhatsApp on web or desktop
WhatsApp is not limited to your mobile phone. There is a web app that syncs everything from your phone. Go WhatsApp web page Or download the desktop app from whatsapp.com/download/
You’ll need to scan a QR code using your WhatsApp app on your phone to sync, but after that, you’ll find all your chats and conversations on your computer screen, making it nice and easy to reply. For more information about the WhatsApp desktop app, you can read our separate feature.
It will serve chats and alerts on your computer, allowing you to reply quickly and easily. Your phone needs to be initially connected to work, but then, you don’t need your phone to sync messages anymore.
What is ‘tick’ and last seen information?
Checkmarks appear next to each message you send A gray checkmark indicates that the message was successfully sent to the recipient, while two gray checkmarks indicate that the message was successfully delivered to the recipient’s phone. Two blue checkmarks alert you when the recipient reads your message.
When you look at a chat window or even a contact in WhatsApp, you will often see a “last seen” timestamp under its name. This is a simple little indicator for when WhatsApp last checked the connection. If you don’t want people to see exactly when you’re using WhatsApp, you can hide your last seen timestamp. Just go to Settings, then Accounts and Privacy.
Be sure to toggle the last view to “someone”, but doing so will prevent you from being able to see everyone’s last visit. Under this section, you will find that you can hide your profile photo, status and reading receipts. You can even manage a list of your blocked contacts.
Turn off incoming media from saving automatically
By default, WhatsApp automatically saves photos and videos from recipients to photos on iOS devices or in the Gallery or Photos app on Android.
You can stop it on iOS by going to Settings and then Chat Settings. From there, toggle off the “Save to Camera Roll”.
Check your WhatsApp call data usage settings
As we mentioned, WhatsApp uses your mobile data unless you use Wi-Fi. Here’s how to monitor usage.
Mute group notifications
Group conversations can be the worst. You may not be able to leave the conversation, but you can mute the notifications so that you don’t wake up every time someone throws two cents at them.
If you use an iPhone, just open the group chat, tap the topic to get the group info screen, and then tap mute. On Android, open Chat, then tap the Menu button and tap Mute.
Backup your chats
When you switch to a new phone, you can take your WhatsApp chat history with you. Just go to settings in the app, then tap on chat settings and select chat backup.
From there, back up the chat now or turn on Auto Backup 7 You can restore your chats when you reinstall WhatsApp on a new phone
It backs up to Apple iCloud or Google Drive, depending on which system you’re using.
Written by Maggie Tillman. Edited by Britta O’Boyle.
