WhatsApp is, on its own merits, the instant mail app much more famous and most essential all over the world. Its popularity is so enormous that it even managed to make its way into the smartphones of older people, and this had a very positive impact in most situations, since they discovered an exclusive way of being in contact with their acquaintances. close, and to socialize.

Using it is very simple indeed, our WhatsApp work platform is developed, from its origins, so that anyone can enjoy it even if they do not have previous understandings. We just have to enter the app with a touch on it, choose the chat or the contact to whom we want to send messages and voila, there is not much more. However, we must bear in mind that under that apparent simplicity a number of functionalities are "hidden" that will give us a planet of options if we are ready to explore them.

In other words, in essence, the same thing that happens with Google plus, a search engine that is very simple to use, but that, as we told you at the time in the article, has a wide variety of “segregated” functionalities that are very interesting, and that are going to be really useful to us. Following in the footsteps of that product, today I want to share with us ten tips that will help you use WhatsApp like a true expert. As always and at all times, if you have any questions you can leave it in the comments and we will help you solve them.

1.-Group chats on WhatsApp: Keep your dialogues in order

Let's be frank, the WhatsApp sets have the possibility of ending up being a genuine ordeal. Surely you have met more than once with cross dialogues between multiple members that touch on different topics and that, in the end, decay into permanent bombardment of messages that make the situation uncomfortable and even meaningless.

To manage this situation, and make the groups much more bearable, the ideal is to try to limit the dialogues and the maximum number of members per group. Having a set of ten people now can be quite difficult to manage, so think what can happen in much larger sets. I know that it is not feasible in all cases to reduce the number of members of a group, but we have the possibility of resorting to message citation to maintain some order.

You can also go directly to the members of the group at the time you want to have a chat with him. Both options are really useful, and complement each other perfectly. To refer to a message, you just have to press and hold on it and choose the “reply” option. If you wish address an individual directly, write "@" without quotes and choose the name of the contact you want to address. You can also check the contents in which you have been quoted, or mentioned, by pressing the “@” icon.

2.-Activate the verification in 2 steps to improve security

The 2-step verification systems represent an essential optimization at the security level, since add a protective cover to our WhatsApp account, and also to any other account we have. My personal experience with this type of verification system was generally very effective, as I have not had any security issues since then.

Thanks to the activation of the 2-step verification in WhatsApp we have the possibility of avoiding, for example, that someone accesses our account even if you have our SIM card. Or it is viable because an aggregate verification system is added, which means that any unauthorized entry attempt is found with 2 “walls”.

To turn on the 2-step verification we just have to enter WhatsApp and also go to «Settings > My Account > 2-Step Verification». We continue self-guided development and voila. It is very simple to use, and it represents an essential value, so you should give it a chance.

3.-Caution with storage: Using WhatsApp "stains" your mobile

And he can pull it off in a big way, especially if you're in several of those outfits he gives up on. send videos and things that for them are entertaining, although for you it may not be so much. In the event that you are a follower of “memes”, or of “dogs” and “cats” videos, you are also probably in much more than one of those outfits that flood you with multimedia content every day.

those contents they have the possibility of having a colossal clash in the storage of your mobile, and for this reason it is convenient that you take measures before you find yourself with space inconveniences. More than once I came across cases of relatives who asked me for assistance because they did not understand how their new smart phone now gave them the warning of little space, if they had only taken certain photographs. WhatsApp was the culprit, or much rather those groups and individuals that distribute content as if there were no tomorrow.

The much more sensible thing to avoid inconveniences is to disable the automatic download of multimedia content in WhatsApp. To carry it out we just have to enter WhatsApp, continue the route “Settings > Storage and Data” and disable automatic file download options (photographs, audio, video and documents). If we wish to release storage, we will also be able to enter "Manage Storage", where a measurement of the space occupied by the contents of different chats will appear, and we will be able to remove those that do not interest us.

4.-Reveal which members of the group have read your messages

This is another way to better manage dialogues together, and can help us maintain a much truer relationship with the different members of a group. It is simple to understand, and in truth it has surely happened to you more than once, you send an essential message addressed to 2 or three people, hence you do not quote each and every one of them, and you don't get an answer. You consider that it is possible that some of those people have not read it because the blue tick does not appear, but is it really this way?

WhatsApp includes a function that lets us know who has read our messages in a group, and it is very simple to use. You just have to tap on the message you sent and perform an extended press. A context menu will open where the “info” option will appear. Select it and you will see who has read your message. If you use an Android smartphone, you must press that button and then touch the three-point menu at the top of the mobile.

With this you will also be able to see when did you get the message each individual and assess if something has probably happened, or if their delay in responding may be habitual. In other words, it is much more useful than it seems, and for this reason it seems to me among the much more useful functionalities of each and every one of those that WhatsApp integrates.

5.-Create custom sounds for your contacts

Another of the much more useful and much more attractive features that WhatsApp provides. With it we have the possibility of making specific sounds for specific contacts, which It will let us understand if that message we just received is from our partner or our best friend, or if on the contrary it is a minor contact, and without the need to see the screen.

To turn on this function, we only have to go to the profile of the contact, in WhatsApp, whose alert sound we want to adjust. Once inside, we choose the option «Wallpaper and Sound» if you use iOS or “Alerts > Adjust alerts” if we use an Android mobile. There we will be able to select what tone we want it to sound at the moment we receive a message from such a contact.

In my case, this function has helped me to reduce the dispersions to the limit without the need to silence the mobile just in case something essential happens. I have a very soft sound for contacts generally, and different sounds for those people who matter most to me.

6.-Do WhatsApp sets bother you? Let the silence take place

Always and at all times the same thing happens. The moment we enter a WhatsApp group, most of the time we see it as something insignificant, and in the end we end up staying out of pure duty, but we don't want that group to bother us with alerts. If you find yourself in this situation, the outstanding thing you can do is silence alerts, and permanently.

To do so, you must enter the set profile that you want to silence, play the "Mute" option and select how long you want that silence to last. You can also do this with contacts that are annoying to you but, for one reason or another, you can't block them directly (family members, for example).

If you're using an Android mobile, long press on the group or contact chat and tap the mute icon that will appear at the top right of the screen. You can also select whether or not you want to continue receiving alerts from this set or contact. Note that this development can be reversed without issue.

7.-From your WhatsApp to the PC in seconds, and without cables

Something much more intrusive, and with which I had to deal much more, was the concerns that several WhatsApp clients have when transferring the photos and files of that app to their PC. The truth is that, in the end, there are many options and many ways to be able to directly move things from WhatsApp to the PC, and without adversity, but in the article I want to focus on the much easier and more efficient ones.

If you want to move an image, a video or any file directly from a WhatsApp chat to your PC, one of the most efficient ways, due to its simplicity and speed, is to send it by mail. It is very simple, if you use iOS you only have to perform a long press on the content, a contextual menu will open where we will choose the «Communicate» option, and we will have 2 arrows, the one on the left allows us to forward it to contacts, and the one on the left, which is straight, offers us the opportunity to send the content to other apps, and also by mail.

If we choose the straight arrow, we will be able to send it to our email address. Another way to send us enormous proportions of photos and videos from WhatsApp to our PC without the need to connect our smartphone is to upload them to a service like WeTransfer, to serve as an example, using the option to make a link, and then use that link on PC to download the content. If you have WhatsApp enabled on your PC, things are even simpler and faster. In case you use an Android terminal, when carrying out the long press you must go to the three points (top right of the screen) and choose «Communicate».

8.-Give your answers a touch of emphasis by changing the font

Yes, we now understand that capital letters are an acceptable option for this task, but there are situations in which they have the possibility of ending up falling short. If you want to give a reply or comment more emphasis, you can do so giving them a particular format. There are many options, but now I leave you some much more useful:

• Write in bold: enter a * at the beginning and at the end of the message you want to send.
• Strikethrough item: you can do this by putting ~ before and at the end of the article.
• Use italics: It is very simple, you only have to use _ at the beginning and at the end of the message.
• Monospace font: you can use it with `` at the beginning and at the end of the article.

Keep in mind that you can use each and every one of those options in a combined way in a single article. In this way, to serve as an example, if you want to send a curved and bold message, you must write them simultaneously at the beginning and at the end of the article, but in the right order. Here is a sample case for you to understand:

• Successful: _*Hello_*.
• Wrong: _*Hello*_.

9.-Export those chats that you do not want to lose, but that you do not want to carry on your phone either

WhatsApp can become a source of very deep dialogues, and it is possible that not in all cases it is advisable to carry them on our smartphone. There is also the opportunity that we must face an exclusive stage, sentimental or work, and that an important part of the chats that we had stored at the moment should not continue to be on our smart mobile device, but at the same time we do not want to lose them.

On the other hand, there are also occasions in which it is possible that we need to communicate a finished chat to clarify misunderstandings, or to solve inconveniences or very particular occasions. In this type of case, the ideal is to directly export the chat, or the chats, that we want preserve off smartphone, or that we have the possibility of help overcome these drawbacks.

When exporting a chat, we have the possibility of sending its content, both the article and the multimedia elements, to a contact or to another device using, for example, e-mail. In this way, thanks to this function we will be able to easily export chats, with its content, to our PC, for example. If we use iOS we just have to go to “Settings> Chats> Export” and select the chat we want to export. On Android we go to “Settings> Chats> Chat History” and choose “Export Chat”.

ten.-Exploit temporary messages and photographs, but with your feet on the ground

This type of content has considerable value in terms of privacy and security, and will also help you keep certain chats clean. As the name suggests, both options let you make WhatsApp messages and photos that they will only be free in the course of time. Once that time has passed, they will disappear automatically without you having to do anything.

In this way, to serve as an example, you can send a photograph that will only be free to be viewed once, and messages that will disappear after a period of time between 24 and 90 days. However, keep in mind that even if these disappear always and at all times it is feasible to carry out screenshots and chat exports to another device, where they won't disappear, so don't do anything stupid.

To use this function, you only have to enter the chat profile you want and turn on "Temporary Messages". If you want to send a photo that will be deleted when viewed once, You only have to choose the photograph that you are going to send and mark the circle with the “1”. You can also activate it by taking a photo to send it on WhatsApp.