The text message is dead! And in its place, long live the more popular, more flexible, more user-friendly - and now entirely free - Whatsapp! But with nothing now standing between you and endless chats, it's time to progress beyond the basics and learn to become a WhatsApp wizard. From dodging awkward messages without the guilt to keeping the adult stuff private, while we wait for WhatsApp video calling to drop, here are the WhatsApp tips and tricks that will turn you into a messaging master and we've decided to chalk up a list of WhatsApp tips and tricks to help ©Wide Integrated readers get the most out of it
If your friends send you loads of stupid pictures on WhatsApp, and you don't want them mixed in with all your amazing photos, it is possible to keep WhatsApp images separate so they don't appear in your camera roll.
> Download a file explorer, such as ES File Explorer
> Navigate to sdcard/WhatsApp/Media
> Enter the folder you don't want shared
> Tap the plus button at the bottom of the screen
> Name the new folder .nomedia
That should stop any media in that folder from showing up in your camera roll. Use a file explorer to stop images from WhatsApp showing into your camera roll.
If you're keen to keep your WhatsApp private, you can use any number of security apps to set a passcode for the app. AppLock is a popular choice.
An update that allows Google Drive backups should now have rolled out to all users. This is far and away the easiest method of moving your chat and media history between devices. However, if for any reason you need to move your WhatsApp history over to a new device without using Google Drive, it's still a pretty painless procedure. All you need is a microSD card and a few minutes to spare.
> Insert the microSD card into the device that has WhatsApp on it
> In WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats > Chat backup
> Remove the SD card and place it into your other device
> Install WhatsApp on the other device
> WhatsApp should detect the backup and prompt you to restore it, which you should do
If you need to move the backup, use a file explorer to find '/sdcard/WhatsApp' and move it to the correct folder
You can easily use WhatsApp on two devices at the same time simply by using the web client. But this means you have to remain connected to the internet on your primary device, and connection issues are not uncommon. The second method is more laborious but also better in the long run. To do this, both the devices you want to use will need to be rooted. Download and install Titanium Backup root and use it to perform a full backup of WhatsApp, including root permissions. Once this is done, use a file manager to navigate to the folder that Titanium Backup created containing the three files starting with
> com.whatsapp.
> Copy this folder onto the internal memory of your second device .
Titanium Backup ★ root
Now, on the second device, where you just copied the files to, download and install WhatsApp. Do not open WhatsApp yet. First, download and install Titanium Backup root again. Open Titanium Backup and grant it root permission. Close the warning and select Backup / restore. Restore using the WhatsApp folder that you copied to the device earlier. [post_ad]Your second device is now set up with a clone of the original app, so it is already verified . The only downside is that only one of the devices will receive notifications, the one from which you sent the last message.
You'll need the WhatsApp Web Chrome extension to get WhatsApp desktop notifications. Then, all you need to do is install a simple add-on called WAToolkit. After installing it, you will see a new icon in your browser toolbar. Hover your cursor over it to see the most recently received message, or right click for more options. You'll also notice the WAToolkit options button in your WhatsApp Web tab. The best part? WAToolkit will notify you of messages on your desktop even when Chrome itself isn’t running.
> Install WhatsApp Web on PC
> In the WhatsApp Web browser window, go to Options > Notifications and ensure that Desktop Alerts is ticked
> Install the Chrome browser extension WAToolkit
> Make sure the background notifications box is ticked, like in the image below
Privacy on the internet is a hard thing to hold onto, but even the famously unprivate WhatsApp has a few features that let you do things on the down-low. Want to send out a group message without everyone in the group seeing who else received that message, and then seeing every subsequent response to the message? That's what the Broadcast feature is for, and using it is simple:
> Tap the Options icon at the top right (three dots)
> Tap New broadcast
> Enter the names of all the contacts you want to send your private message to
> Tap Create, write your message, then send it
The broadcast feature lets you send a mass message without everyone seeing the recipients.
Getting thrown into a big group chat filled with party guests and people you don't know can be bewildering. Suddenly, your profile picture is staring back at a chatroom full of strangers, who can also see your status and when you're reading messages. If I wanted a whole flock of strangers ogling and judging a photo of me, I'd have gone on Tinder. Here's how to have better control over who sees this information on WhatsApp:
> Tap the Options icon at the top right of WhatsApp
> Go to Settings > Account > Privacy
> Go through the Last seen, Profile photo, and Status options, then set their visibility to 'Everyone', 'My contacts' or 'Nobody', depending on how much privacy you want
We've all been in that position where we've somehow been dragged into a group chat that we either didn't really want to be in in the first place or just don't want to receive notifications from every couple of minutes. Rather than just leave the chat, which may offend some people, you can simply mute the chat so you stop receiving notifications from it.
> In WhatsApp, tap the Chats tab
> Tap the group you want to mute
> With the group open, tap the Options icon at the top right
> Tap Mute, then select the amount of time you want to mute the group for. You can also untick the Show notifications box so that you never hear from the group again until you decide otherwise
Do you have certain friends with whom you have constant stream-of-consciousness conversations, where you're non-stop WhatsApp'ing all day, every day? If so, then you can create a shortcut icon to those conversations, which will appear on your Android home screen. This means you can jump straight into chats with your BFFs and important groups.
> In WhatsApp, tap the Chats tab.
> Tap and hold the conversation you want to create a shortcut for.
> When the list of options appears, tap Add conversation shortcut
> A shortcut displaying your contact's profile picture will now appear on your home screen. Tap it to jump straight in and start chatting to them.
Tap the Add shortcut option for quick access to certain chats from your homescreen
By default, WhatsApp backs up your messages every day at 4am. This means that if you've deleted any messages since then, but before the next auto-backup, you can recover them. To do this:
> Uninstall WhatsApp from your device (Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Uninstall)
> Reinstall WhatsApp.
> Type your phone number into WhatsApp, then it should notify you that it's found a backup of your chats
> Tap Restore to get your deleted messages back
This simple little trick allows you to change the default wallpaper in WhatsApp. It's purely an aesthetic feature, but it does make your conversations look a lot nicer.
> In WhatsApp, tap the options (three dots) button and tap Settings
> Tap Chats
> Tap Wallpaper
> Tap WhatsApp, to download the WhatsApp wallpaper pack, or Documents, to view your own images.
> Select an image and tap Set Wallpaper
If your eyesight is less than perfect, you can change the size of the text to make it even bigger. Or perhaps you want to shrink it so you can see more of the conversation on one page. Either way, here's how.
> In WhatsApp, tap the options (three dots) button and tap Settings
> Tap Chats
> Tap Font Size
> Select your preferred font size
You can stop your contacts knowing if you have read their messages by hiding the blue ticks. It's easy to switch them off, just bear in mind that this will mean that you won't get see when contacts have read your messages either. They will remain switched on for group chats regardless.
> In WhatsApp, tap the options (three dots) button and tap Settings
> Tap Account
> Tap Privacy
> Untick the Read receipts box
You can hide the message read ticks, but you won't know when others have read your messages either.
If there's a particularly important message in one of your chats that you want to be able to refer back to easily at a later date, then just long press on it, then press the star icon at the top of the screen. When you want to view it again, you can now just tap the trio of dots at the top right of the WhatsApp window, and press on Starred messages.
Navigate to the starred messages section by tapping the three dots icon.
This is a near hands-free way to send a message in WhatsApp. Assuming you have Google Now enabled (which you should) just say, "OK Google", and then, "send WhatsApp message to (insert name)". After that you just dictate the message you want to send and Google Now will do the rest.
Google Now offers the easiest way to send WhatsApp messages.
So friends you enjoyed our tutorial Hidden WhatsApp tips and tricks .. If yes don’t forget to say thanks
1. Stop WhatsApp images appearing in your camera roll
If your friends send you loads of stupid pictures on WhatsApp, and you don't want them mixed in with all your amazing photos, it is possible to keep WhatsApp images separate so they don't appear in your camera roll.
> Download a file explorer, such as ES File Explorer
> Navigate to sdcard/WhatsApp/Media
> Enter the folder you don't want shared
> Tap the plus button at the bottom of the screen
> Name the new folder .nomedia
That should stop any media in that folder from showing up in your camera roll. Use a file explorer to stop images from WhatsApp showing into your camera roll.
2. Lock WhatsApp
If you're keen to keep your WhatsApp private, you can use any number of security apps to set a passcode for the app. AppLock is a popular choice.
3. Switch your WhatsApp chat history between phones
An update that allows Google Drive backups should now have rolled out to all users. This is far and away the easiest method of moving your chat and media history between devices. However, if for any reason you need to move your WhatsApp history over to a new device without using Google Drive, it's still a pretty painless procedure. All you need is a microSD card and a few minutes to spare.
> Insert the microSD card into the device that has WhatsApp on it
> In WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats > Chat backup
> Remove the SD card and place it into your other device
> Install WhatsApp on the other device
> WhatsApp should detect the backup and prompt you to restore it, which you should do
If you need to move the backup, use a file explorer to find '/sdcard/WhatsApp' and move it to the correct folder
It's easy to make and transfer WhatsApp backups.
4. Use WhatsApp on two devices at once
You can easily use WhatsApp on two devices at the same time simply by using the web client. But this means you have to remain connected to the internet on your primary device, and connection issues are not uncommon. The second method is more laborious but also better in the long run. To do this, both the devices you want to use will need to be rooted. Download and install Titanium Backup root and use it to perform a full backup of WhatsApp, including root permissions. Once this is done, use a file manager to navigate to the folder that Titanium Backup created containing the three files starting with
> com.whatsapp.
> Copy this folder onto the internal memory of your second device .
Titanium Backup ★ root
Now, on the second device, where you just copied the files to, download and install WhatsApp. Do not open WhatsApp yet. First, download and install Titanium Backup root again. Open Titanium Backup and grant it root permission. Close the warning and select Backup / restore. Restore using the WhatsApp folder that you copied to the device earlier. [post_ad]Your second device is now set up with a clone of the original app, so it is already verified . The only downside is that only one of the devices will receive notifications, the one from which you sent the last message.
5. Get desktop notifications for WhatsApp chats
You'll need the WhatsApp Web Chrome extension to get WhatsApp desktop notifications. Then, all you need to do is install a simple add-on called WAToolkit. After installing it, you will see a new icon in your browser toolbar. Hover your cursor over it to see the most recently received message, or right click for more options. You'll also notice the WAToolkit options button in your WhatsApp Web tab. The best part? WAToolkit will notify you of messages on your desktop even when Chrome itself isn’t running.
> Install WhatsApp Web on PC
> In the WhatsApp Web browser window, go to Options > Notifications and ensure that Desktop Alerts is ticked
> Install the Chrome browser extension WAToolkit
> Make sure the background notifications box is ticked, like in the image below
Tick the 'Wide text bubbles' box in the WAToolkit options to fit more messages on your screen.
6. Send private messages in bulk, BCC-style
Privacy on the internet is a hard thing to hold onto, but even the famously unprivate WhatsApp has a few features that let you do things on the down-low. Want to send out a group message without everyone in the group seeing who else received that message, and then seeing every subsequent response to the message? That's what the Broadcast feature is for, and using it is simple:
> Tap the Options icon at the top right (three dots)
> Tap New broadcast
> Enter the names of all the contacts you want to send your private message to
> Tap Create, write your message, then send it
The broadcast feature lets you send a mass message without everyone seeing the recipients.
7. Hide 'Last seen', profile photo and status
Getting thrown into a big group chat filled with party guests and people you don't know can be bewildering. Suddenly, your profile picture is staring back at a chatroom full of strangers, who can also see your status and when you're reading messages. If I wanted a whole flock of strangers ogling and judging a photo of me, I'd have gone on Tinder. Here's how to have better control over who sees this information on WhatsApp:
> Tap the Options icon at the top right of WhatsApp
> Go to Settings > Account > Privacy
> Go through the Last seen, Profile photo, and Status options, then set their visibility to 'Everyone', 'My contacts' or 'Nobody', depending on how much privacy you want
Make sure people only see the info you want them to see.
8. Mute annoying WhatsApp group chats
We've all been in that position where we've somehow been dragged into a group chat that we either didn't really want to be in in the first place or just don't want to receive notifications from every couple of minutes. Rather than just leave the chat, which may offend some people, you can simply mute the chat so you stop receiving notifications from it.
> In WhatsApp, tap the Chats tab
> Tap the group you want to mute
> With the group open, tap the Options icon at the top right
> Tap Mute, then select the amount of time you want to mute the group for. You can also untick the Show notifications box so that you never hear from the group again until you decide otherwise
Are you being harassed by group chat notifications? Go into the chat and mute it.
9. Create a home screen shortcut for your favorite chats
Do you have certain friends with whom you have constant stream-of-consciousness conversations, where you're non-stop WhatsApp'ing all day, every day? If so, then you can create a shortcut icon to those conversations, which will appear on your Android home screen. This means you can jump straight into chats with your BFFs and important groups.
> In WhatsApp, tap the Chats tab.
> Tap and hold the conversation you want to create a shortcut for.
> When the list of options appears, tap Add conversation shortcut
> A shortcut displaying your contact's profile picture will now appear on your home screen. Tap it to jump straight in and start chatting to them.
Tap the Add shortcut option for quick access to certain chats from your homescreen
10. Recover deleted messages
By default, WhatsApp backs up your messages every day at 4am. This means that if you've deleted any messages since then, but before the next auto-backup, you can recover them. To do this:
> Uninstall WhatsApp from your device (Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Uninstall)
> Reinstall WhatsApp.
> Type your phone number into WhatsApp, then it should notify you that it's found a backup of your chats
> Tap Restore to get your deleted messages back
11. How to change your WhatsApp background
This simple little trick allows you to change the default wallpaper in WhatsApp. It's purely an aesthetic feature, but it does make your conversations look a lot nicer.
> In WhatsApp, tap the options (three dots) button and tap Settings
> Tap Chats
> Tap Wallpaper
> Tap WhatsApp, to download the WhatsApp wallpaper pack, or Documents, to view your own images.
> Select an image and tap Set Wallpaper
12. How to change the font size
If your eyesight is less than perfect, you can change the size of the text to make it even bigger. Or perhaps you want to shrink it so you can see more of the conversation on one page. Either way, here's how.
> In WhatsApp, tap the options (three dots) button and tap Settings
> Tap Chats
> Tap Font Size
> Select your preferred font size
13. Hide the blue ticks
You can stop your contacts knowing if you have read their messages by hiding the blue ticks. It's easy to switch them off, just bear in mind that this will mean that you won't get see when contacts have read your messages either. They will remain switched on for group chats regardless.
> In WhatsApp, tap the options (three dots) button and tap Settings
> Tap Account
> Tap Privacy
> Untick the Read receipts box
You can hide the message read ticks, but you won't know when others have read your messages either.
14. Star messages to quickly view them later
If there's a particularly important message in one of your chats that you want to be able to refer back to easily at a later date, then just long press on it, then press the star icon at the top of the screen. When you want to view it again, you can now just tap the trio of dots at the top right of the WhatsApp window, and press on Starred messages.
Navigate to the starred messages section by tapping the three dots icon.
15. Use Google Now to send messages
This is a near hands-free way to send a message in WhatsApp. Assuming you have Google Now enabled (which you should) just say, "OK Google", and then, "send WhatsApp message to (insert name)". After that you just dictate the message you want to send and Google Now will do the rest.
Google Now offers the easiest way to send WhatsApp messages.
So friends you enjoyed our tutorial Hidden WhatsApp tips and tricks .. If yes don’t forget to say thanks
