Tips for WhatsApp Users

WhatsApp has become a lifeline for almost smartphone user since its launch in year 2009. It is the most popular chat app in the world and has over 1 billion monthly active users. But while a lot of people use WhatsApp, not everyone is keeping track of all the new features the app has got in the last several months.

In fact, since the beginning of this year the number of features coming to WhatsApp has grown at a rapid pace. Nowadays, almost every two weeks there is a new WhatsApp feature. So what does that mean for you, the WhatsApp user? You are probably not using WhatsApp in a very smart way. But worry not, we tell you some tips that will help you get most out of WhatsApp. To start with, 10 tips. 

• Tag people in group chats: Refer to someone in a group chat with a mention by typing the "@" symbol and selecting the person's name from the pop-up list. When you mention someone in a message, a notification will be sent to that person.

• For iOS users: WhatsApp has recently rolled out several updates for its iOS users like using Siri to send a message or make call. When receiving a phone call, you can answer it quickly with the new full calling screen. To answer, tap to Accept or drag the slider. A new widget has also been added to the app that lets you jump to a recent chat or see which chats have unread message. Also in your iPhone Contacts app, you will have the option to make a call or send a message directly with WhatsApp. iPhone users can also forward a message or content to multiple chats at once.

• Tap to speak: Don't want to type those lengthy and boring messages? That's fine. WhatsApp has a feature to help you deal with this. Simply, press the 'mic' button in your keypad and now dictate your long messages to the app.

• Find out who has read your message in a group chat: Not everyone reads a message at the same time in a group chat. And those double blue ticks, they appear only when the message has been read by all in the group. So now you can know who has read your messages and who hasn't. Just tap and hold on the message, and then tap the Info option. You will see the message details like the exact time it was delivered and read.

• Reply to a specific message: Do you have a friend who quick fires messages? Like one question and then before you can answer that, another question. To make it less confusing, you can answer the specific messages. Press on the message you want to answer, select the 'reply' button, and then type and send your response. It will appear with the original message so that the context is not lost.

• Create shortcuts for important contracts: You can create shortcuts for your important contact on your phone's home screen. All you have to do is go the contact's chat window > Settings > More > Add Shortcut. You can now see the shortcut on your phone's home screen.

• Stylise your messages: You can add some style -- or highlights -- to your messages using bold, italics, and strike-thrus. For e.g. *Hi * for bold, _Hi _ for italics and ~Hi ~ for strike-thrus.

• Mute the noisy group notifications: Continuous messages in a group can be a annoying. Here's what you need to do to mute those irritating notifications. Tap on a group name > tap on Mute and then select how long you want to mute the group.

• Broadcast live feature: With festivals coming you may want to send a message to several friends at once. You can do this using this feature. Go to the Chats screen, tap on the menu button and then 'New broadcast' to choose the contacts you want to send the message. So party on Friday? Invite all your friends with single message.

• Send a map of your location or nearby places to let someone know where you are or suggest a meeting place: To do this, tap on the share icon and then send your location or search for a place. Your GPS should be turned on before you send the location.

• Personalise your WhatsApp: You can change the wallpaper of your WhatsApp. You will find this option under settings.

• Search your WhatsApp chat history: You can search for a precise message in your chat thread. Go the contact's screen where you want to find the message. Tap the option button > Search > Type the text you are looking for. The app will fetch in the search term along with the conversation it came in.