Hello everybody!
Today I want to tell you about the 14 great functions in WhatsApp messenger to help you
make the most of it.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps to exchange messages that brings together millions
of people all over the world.
Still, there are so many users that know too little about all the opportunities that WhatsApp
offers.
For today’s video review, I have selected the top fourteen functions that will everyone
will benefit from.
So, let’s begin.
1.
Displaying personal info.
The first one deals with displaying personal info.
To change these settings, open Settings - Account - Privacy.
This is where you can decide which personal data you want other people to see: your profile
photo, last time you were online, and your status.
Alternatively, if you don’t want your personal info to be displayed at all, choose the option
“Nobody.”
For iOS, find similar settings by opening Settings > Account > Privacy.
2.
Message formatting.
The next function is message formatting.
Even today, some people still don’t know that the text in their messages can be formatted
into bold, italics or strikethrough.
All you have to do is to insert certain symbols before and after the word you’d like to
format.
For example, use asterisks for bold, underscore signs - for italics, and tilde for strikethrough.
Example: *text*, _text_, ~text~.
3.
Replying to a specific message.
In this app, you can reply to a selected message.
For example, when you chatting actively, an opportunity to answer a specific message can
help you avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
And in WhatsApp, this function works really nice.
Just swipe on the chat message from left to right, and it will be attached to your new
message.
This way you can show exactly which message you are trying to answer.
Another simple way of doing that is by pressing on a message and tapping on the arrow in the
menu above.
4.
Adding messages to starred.
The next thing you can do is to add a message to starred.
If you do that, you will be able to quickly return to such message without having to search
the entire chat.
It can be useful when you need to save a task, phone number, coordinates and other important
information.
To add a message to starred messages, press on it and tap the star-shaped button above.
It will be added to the special menu immediately.
To access such messages on Android devices, tap the three dots button in the right upper
corner, and for iOS, open WhatsApp settings.
5.
Broadcasting messages Another piece of advice will be helpful if
you need to send similar messages to a number of users.
Such broadcast is especially useful if you want to share something with many people without
uniting them into a group.
This function is available on tapping the three dot button in the upper right corner
of the screen.
Just check the necessary contacts from your list, and the message will be sent to all
the selected people, while you will be the only person who can see their replies.
6.
Checking the time of messages delivered and read
Another option on the list is to check when messages are delivered and read.
Few people know that in WhatsApp you can see exact time when a message was delivered - and
read.
To do it, press on a specific message in a chat, tap on the three dots in the right upper
corner and select “Info.”
On iOS, select “Info” from the menu after you tap on the message.
This function is very useful when you can’t contact a person and don’t even know if
they received your message.
However, this trick works only if the user has not disabled “Read receipts” option
in the privacy settings.
7.
Configuring custom notifications One more recommendation is to configure custom
notifications.
Unlike many other messengers, WhatsApp lets you set up notifications about new messages
and calls for every contact - or for every group.
It means you can disable sound for messages from a specific person - or, on the contrary,
set a special melody for such contact.
With this option enabled, you will always know who exactly sent you a message even without
glancing at the screen.
To start configuring, open the menu for a contact or group and select “Custom notifications.”
Check the box for “Use custom notifications” and edit the options as you like.
8.
Disable automatic media download Another important setting is to disable automatic
media download.
This step will be very useful when you are roaming as your carrier may charge extra payments
for downloading data, and using WhatsApp can become very expensive.
To disable it, open Settings - Data and storage use - Media auto-download.
There are three options to choose from: Mobile data, Wi-Fi, and Roaming.
For each of the items, tap to open and uncheck the boxes next to Photos, Audio, and Videos.
That’s all.
9.
Changing a mobile phone number without losing data
Another real-life benefit comes from the function of changing your phone number without sacrificing
your data is a valuable asset.
For example, you may have to change your SIM card, but it doesn’t mean you need to create
one more WhatsApp account.
No more hassle - things should be way simpler.
Just open Settings - Account - Change number.
Confirm your old number, and then enter your new number.
Everything is ready: the number has been changed but all your data is still here.
This function lets you move all your groups, settings and account info in a quick and easy
way.
10.
Backup and restore If you don’t want to lose your chats for
good - find some time for backup.
To configure this function, open Settings - Chats - Chat backup.
You can set up backing up your data automatically to Google Drive.
Next time you install WhatsApp to any other device, just select the option to restore
data from Google Drive to have all your messages back - this time on the new phone.
11.
Blocking users From time to time, all of us may have to add
a user to the black list.
To disable notifications from such users, open Settings - Account - Privacy - Blocked
contacts.
Tap the icon in the upper right corner to see the list of all your contacts.
Select the ones you’d like to block.
Now you will never see messages from these people.
12.
Sharing your location in WhatsApp When sending messages to friends or family
members you can add geolocation data as well.
In this case, before sending data the messenger will show you a list of nearest places and
you can choose one of their locations to specify in your message.
Tap Attach (fashioned like a paper clip) and select an element from the Location list.
Then tap on a nearby place.
13.
Creating shortcuts for specific chats If you use Android devices regularly, you
can create shortcuts for popular chats and place them on the main screen.
It can be useful if there are some people that you want to often communicate with.
This is how you do it: press and hold your finger on the chat (in a group or with a certain
contact) until the menu tab appears above.
Then tap “Add shortcut” To have the chat displayed as a profile picture of the corresponding
contact on the main screen of your phone.
14.
Protect WhatsApp with a password.
Finally, the last piece of advice - protect your WhatsApp with a password.
Some things are not meant to be seen by others, and your chats in WhatsApp are just the case.
If you know that a friend or family member enjoys browsing somebody else’s messages,
the best solution would be to have them password-protected.
To have things your own way, you need to download an additional application, Messenger and Chat
Lock.
It will help you set a password for WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger and all other applications
used to send and receive messages.
Having done that, your chats will always be open to your eyes only.
It would be misleading to say that these fourteen features represent all the functions of this
messenger app.
My choice was to tell you about the ones I find most useful.
But WhatsApp is developing new functions all the time, so the future can bring more interesting
features.
Feel free to post a comment if you feel we missed out some great tricks.
That’s all for now!
I hope you find this video useful.
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Leave comments to ask questions and give us more ideas.
Thank you for watching.
Good luck.