The hidden WhatsApp functions you need to know now

Many of us use the app for its most basic function, which is to send instant messages. Some use it for phone calls and sometimes business meetings, but there are some features that many of us are yet to discover about the popular app. 

Have a look at the list below: 

1. Temporary messages - popularly known as “self-destructing messages”, this is a new feature so don't worry if you weren't aware. With this feature, messages disappear after a certain time to protect valuable information. If you wish to reactivate them, tap on the name of the contact in the chat, select the messages option, and turn on the 'Temporary Messages' switch.

2. Know what time your message was read - Some have blue ticks, others have grey ticks. If you want to know the details of your messages, whether sent or received, all you have to do is press on the text, then slide left or select the 'info' option from the three-dot menu. You will then be able to see everything you need to know about the text message - the time it was sent, received, and read. 

3. You can change the format of your text - Some of you may be aware of this feature already. WhatsApp allows you to change your font to bold, italics, and even cursive! To make your text bold, use these * on each side of your text. For italics, use _ on either side, to cross something out use ~ on each side. 

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4. Don't save media directly to your phone - If you don't want to fill up your device's memory with unnecessary files, you can deactivate this. Go to your settings on the menu, select 'chats', deactivate 'visibility of multimedia files'. 

5. Want to know who your favourite contact is? You can see which contact you interact with the most so you can manage your chats and avoid clutter. Go to settings, then storage data and then storage usage. Thank us later for this tip! 

6. Quality check your voice notes before sending them! You should definitely use this option if you constantly find yourself in hot water over something you said on a voice note. This one is a bit tricky, start recording your audio and when you wish to stop recording, quickly exit the app without pressing the stop recording button, when you return to the message, your audio will still be there and you will have the option to listen, send or delete. 

ALSO READ: Big changes coming to WhatsApp

7. Personalise your notifications - Exclusivity matters! If you want to know who's sending you a message, you can customise your notifications for your contacts. To achieve this, click on the contact's name and look for the option "personalised tone", then select the tone you like.

8. Mark a conversation as "unread" - If you're the type that responds within 7 working days. This might be helpful. Click on the chat for a few seconds then select the option "mark as unread" and the conversation will remain 'unread' so you can remember to respond. 

9. Deactivate your last WhatsApp connection - Not everyone wants everyone to know when they were last 'active' on WhatsApp. Deactivate your 'last seen' by opening your settings, select 'account' and then 'privacy' to remove your 'last seen', you can even choose who can see the last time you were online. 

10. Custom backgrounds - now many of us know how to do this, but did you know that you can also adjust this for each chat? To do this, go to 'settings', select 'chats', and then the 'wallpaper' option, here you can adjust your tones, go 'dark', and even select your background using the available images. 

11. Highlight text messages - want to highlight important information in your conversations? You can mark them as important by simply pressing a 'star' on them so you can easily locate the info when needed. 

12. Become a WhatsApp beta tester - interested in becoming a beta tester for WhatsApp to be the first to try out upcoming features? Follow this link.