Tips for WhatsApp

WhatsApp is, on its own merits, the instant messaging app much more famous and more essential in the worldIts popularity is so enormous that it even managed to make its way into the phones intelligent older people, and this had a very positive impact in most cases, since they discovered a new way of being in contact with their close acquaintances, and of socializing.

Using it is very simple, in fact our WhatsApp platform has been designed, from the beginning, so that anyone can enjoy it even if they have no previous knowledge. We just have to enter the app with a tap on it, choose the chat or contact to which we want to send messages and that's it, there is not much more. However, we must keep in mind that Under this apparent simplicity, countless functionalities are "hidden" that will give us a planet of options if we are willing to explore them.

That is, in essence, the same thing that happens with Google Plus, a search engine that is very easy to use, but as we told you at the time in the article, it has a wide variety of "segregated" functionalities which are very interesting and will be really useful to us. Following in the footsteps of that productToday I want to share with you ten tips that will help you use WhatsApp like real experts. As always, if you have any questions you can leave them in the comments and we will help you resolve them.

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

Let's be frank, the sets of WhatsApp They can be a real pain. You have probably encountered them more than once. cross dialogues between multiple members that touch on different topics and that, in the end, degenerate into a permanent bombardment of messages that make the situation uncomfortable and even meaningless.

To manage this situation and make the groups much more bearable, it is best to try to limit the conversations and the maximum number of members per group. Having a group of ten people now can be quite difficult to manage., so think what can happen in much larger groups. I know that it is not always possible to reduce the number of members in a group, but we can resort to message citation to hold something of order.

You can also directly address one of the group members when you want to start a conversation with him. Both options are really useful, and complement each other perfectly. To refer a message, you just have to make a long press on it and choose the "reply" option. If you want to address an individual directly, type “@” without quotes and choose the name of the contact you want to address. You can also check the content in which you have been quoted or mentioned by clicking the “@” icon.

2.- Activate 2-step verification to improve security

Two-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 problems since. security from that moment on.

Thanks to the activation of 2-step verification in WhatsApp We can prevent, for example, someone from accessing our account. Even if you have our SIM card. This is feasible because an additional verification system is added, which means that any unauthorized entry attempt is met with 2 "walls".

To activate 2-step verification we just have to enter WhatsApp and also go to «Settings > My Account > 2-Step Verification». We follow the self-guided process and that's it. It's very easy to use, and it represents an essential value, so you should give it a try.

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

And it can be done in a big way, especially if you're in a few of those groups that are into send videos and stuff which are entertaining for them, although for you it is possible that they are not so much. In the event that you are a follower of “memes” or videos of “dogs” and “cats”, you are also probably in more than one of those groups that inundate you with multimedia content every day.

Those contents They can have a huge impact on your storage. mobile, and for this reason it is advisable that you take measures before you encounter space problems. More than once I have encountered cases of relatives who asked me for assistance because they did not understand how their new mobile The smart app now gave them a low space warning if they had only taken a few photos. WhatsApp was to blame, or rather those groups and individuals who distribute content as if there was no tomorrow.

The most sensible way to avoid problems is to disable the automatic download of multimedia content in WhatsApp. To do this, we just have to enter WhatsApp, follow the path «Settings > Storage & Data» and disable the download options automatic file backup (photos, audio, video and documents). If we want to free up storage we can also access «Manage Storage», where we will see a measurement of the space occupied by the contents of different chats, 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 conversations together, and can help us maintain a more genuine relationship with the different members of a group. It's easy to understand, and it really surely It happened to you more than once, you send an essential message addressed to 2 or 3 people, that's why you don't mention 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 like this?

WhatsApp includes a feature 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 a long press. A contextual menu will open where the “info” option will appear. Select it and you will see who has read your message. If you use a smartphone Android You will have to press this button and then tap on the three-dot menu at the top of the phone.

With this you will also be able to see when did you receive the message each individual and assess whether something has probably happened, or whether their delay in responding may be normal. This is much more useful than it seems, and for this reason it seems to me to be one of the most useful features of all those that WhatsApp includes.

5.-Create custom sounds for your contacts

Another of the most useful and most attractive features that WhatsApp offers. With it we can make 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 less important contact, and without the need to see the screen.

To activate 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 a mobile phone AndroidThere we will be able to select which tone we want to sound when we receive a message from that contact.

In my case, this feature has helped me to reduce the distractions 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.- Are you bothered by WhatsApp groups? Let silence take place

It always happens the same. When 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 sheer necessity, but we don't want that group to bother us with alerts. If you find yourself in this situation, the best thing you can do is silence alerts, permanently.

To do this you must enter the profile of the set that you want to mute, play the “Mute” option and select how long you want the silence to last. You can also do this with contacts that you find annoying but that, for one reason or another, you cannot block directly (relatives, for example).

If you use a mobile Android, 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 you want to continue receiving alerts or not from this group or contact. Please note that this development can be reversed without any problem.

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

Something much more intrusive, and with which I have had to deal the most, was the concerns that some WhatsApp users have when transferring photos and files from 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 any difficulties, but in the article I want to focus on the easiest and most efficient ones.

If you want to move an image, video or any file directly from a WhatsApp chat to your PC, one of the most effective ways, for simplicity and speed, is to send it by email. It's very simple, if you use iOS you only have to carry out a long press On the content, a contextual menu will open where we will choose the option "Communicate", 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 addressAnother way to send huge amounts of photos and videos from WhatsApp to the PC without the need to connect the smartphone is to upload them to a service like WeTransfer, for example, using the option to create 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. If you use an Android device, By 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 a good option for this task, but there are situations where they may end up falling short. If you want to give more emphasis to a response or comment, you can do so. giving them a particular formatThere are many options, but now I leave you some more useful ones:

• Write in bold: Enter a * at the beginning and end of the message you want to send.
• Article crossed out: You can do this by putting ~ before and at the end of the article.
• Use italics: It's very simple, you just 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.

Please note that you can use all of these options in combination in a single text. So, for 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 text, but in the right orderI'll give you a sample case so you can understand:

• Correct: _*Hello_*.
• Incorrect: _*Hello*_.

9.- Export those chats that you don't want to lose, but that you don't want to keep on your phone either

WhatsApp can become a source of very deep dialogues, and It may not be advisable to carry them in our luggage in all cases. mobile intelligentThere is also the possibility that we must face a new stage, sentimental or work-related, and that a significant part of the chats that we had stored at the moment should no longer be on our mobile device, but at the same time we do not want to lose them.

On the other hand, there are also times when we may need to share a completed chat to clarify misunderstandings, or to be able to solve very specific problems or situations. In these types of cases, the ideal thing is to directly export the chat, or chats, that we want. preserve outside the mobile intelligent, or that they can give us contribute to overcoming these drawbacks.

When exporting a chat, we have the possibility of sending its content, both the text and the multimedia elements, to a contact or to another device using, for example, email. Thus, 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 only have to go to “Settings > Chats > Export” and select the chat we want to export. Android We go to “Settings > Chats > Chat History” and choose “Export Chat”.

10.- 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 they will also help you keep some chats clean. As the name suggests, both options allow you to create WhatsApp messages and photos that They will only be free over time. Once this time has passed, they will disappear automatically without you having to do anything.

So, for example, you can send a photo that will only be available 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 It is always possible to take screenshots and export the chat to another device, where they won't disappear, so don't do anything stupid.

To use this feature, simply log into the profile of the chat you want and turn on “Temporary Messages”. If you want to send a photo that will be deleted after viewing it once, You just have to choose the photo you are going to send and mark the circle with the "1"You can also activate it when taking a photo to send on WhatsApp.