9 Lesser-Known Tips, Tricks, And Hacks For WhatsApp
WhatsApp is one of the most used apps on Android and other mobile platforms. Used by millions of users, WhatsApp is brilliant as it is. That being said, there are various tips, tricks and hacks for WhatsApp that you can use in order to make WhatsApp even more awesome.
To be honest, I didn’t like WhatsApp until last year and my friends kept on nagging me to download it. However, after using it for a couple of days, I became a fan.
If there are some features that you don’t like on WhatsApp or if you’re looking for some cool WhatsApp tricks, then continue reading to find out the best tips, tricks and hacks for WhatsApp that you can use right now.
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Accept privacy terms or face limited functionality, says WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s status flaw can be exploited by stalkers, says expert
WhatsApp tips, tricks, and hacks you never knew before
- Hide WhatsApp media from Gallery
- Set WhatsApp profile picture as your local contact’s photo
- Restore older messages
- Lock WhatsApp
- Share PDF, zip, and other files
- Send video as GIF
- Pay from WhatsApp
- Hide blue ticks
- Add chat shortcut to home screen
1. Hide WhatsApp Images And Videos From Appearing In Your Gallery
One of the most annoying things for me on WhatsApp is that it automatically shows images and videos in your phone’s Gallery. If you haven’t visited your Gallery app for a while, then you’ll find all those useless videos and images sent to you by your contacts.
I’ve made a habit of going to my Gallery app every time someone sends me a useless image or video. If you’re doing the same, then there’s an easy way to hide these files from your Gallery. Your phone will still have these files and you’ll be able to use them later, but they won’t appear in your Gallery. Isn’t it an amazing WhatsApp trick?
Step 1
Open Notepad on your PC and create a new blank file.
Step 2
The saved file should now have a .txt extension. Change the name of this file to “.nomedia”. So, there is no file name and “.nomedia” is only the extension. The image below might make this more clear.
Step 3
Connect your Android device to your PC using a micro USB cable and transfer the “.nomedia” file to the WhatsApp folder.
That’s it! Now you won’t see those annoying videos and images in your Gallery. In order to hide only images, transfer the “.nomedia” file to the WhatsApp Images folder, and in order to hide only videos, transfer this file to the WhatsApp Video folder. You’ll find these two folders under the Media folder in the WhatsApp folder on your phone.
2. Set WhatsApp Profile Picture As Your Local Contact’s Photo
This WhatsApp trick is easier than some of you might think. Simply go to the Profile Pictures folder in the WhatsApp folder on your phone. You’ll now see profile pictures of your WhatsApp contacts. Open the picture that you want to use and set it as a contact photo. That’s it!
3. Restore Older Messages
WhatsApp automatically backs up your messages, so in order to restore them, uninstall WhatsApp and install it again from the Google Play Store. Tap on the Restore button while setting up WhatsApp to get back your messages.
If your older messages have not been restored, you’ll need to restore them manually. Follow the steps below to manually restore your older messages.
Step 1
If you don’t want your new messages to be lost, you’ll need to create a manual backup. Tap on Menu in WhatsApp, select Settings and go to Chat settings. Tap on Backup conversations.
Step 2
Once you’re done backing up, uninstall WhatsApp from your Android device.
Step 3
Go to the Databases folder in the WhatsApp folder on your phone. The new backup will either be saved as msgstore.db.crypt8 or msgstore.db.crypt7. In order to avoid further confusion, add “current” in the file name of the backup file. So, it either becomes msgstore.db.crypt8.current or msgstore.db.crypt7.current.
Step 4
While in the Databases folder, you’ll see other msgstore files with the date and year included in the file name. They will also be in a crypt7 or crypt8 format. You’ll need to decide which backup file you want to restore.
Once you have selected the file, rename the file to msgstore.db.crypt7 or msgstore.db.crypt8 depending on whether the file was in crypt7 or crypt8 format. So, for instance, “msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt7” will become “msgstore.db.crypt7”.
Step 5
Install WhatsApp from the Google Play Store and tap on the Restore button during the setting up process in order to restore the old backup.
4. Lock WhatsApp
Privacy is one of the biggest issues that many WhatsApp users face. When someone takes your phone, they can easily read all your messages on WhatsApp.
If you don’t use a password or pattern lock on your Android device, then you can easily lock WhatsApp using a third-party app.
Step 1
Download the WhatsLock app (free with some in-app purchases) on your Android device. You can get it through the Google Play Store button below.
Step 2
Open the app and create your new password. You’ll also need to enter an email ID for password recovery.
Step 3
Enable WhatsLock by turning the toggle to On. That’s it! Every time you open WhatsApp, you’ll need to enter the password that you set up earlier.
5. Share PDF, Zip And Other Files
You probably know that WhatsApp only lets users share certain types of files, such as images and videos. If you want to share other types of files, then follow the steps below.
Step 1
Install the CloudSend app (Free) on your Android device. You can get the app through the Google Play Store button below.
Step 2
Open the CloudSend app, go through the introduction screens and tap on Setup. You’ll now need to allow access on Dropbox for CloudSend.
Step 3
After allowing access, go to the file that you want to share, long press it and select the Share option. Select CloudSend from the list of options.
Step 4
The file will now start uploading, and once the process is complete, you’ll see a Send button below the file name in your notifications panel. Tap on the Send button below the file name and select WhatsApp. You can now select your desired contact for sending the link.
6. Send video as GIF
While you can directly send a GIF on Android, not many WhatsApp users know that they can send a video as GIF. You can send your favorite videos as a GIF on WhatsApp on the tap of a few buttons. Here’s how!
Step 1
Open the chat and select the video you want to send as a GIF
Step 2
Reduce the length of the video to 6s or lower by selecting the portion of the video you would like to send as GIF
Step 3
Tap the GIF icon next to the video icon and hit send
The video will be sent as a GIF to the recipient.
Isn’t it one of the coolest Android tricks?
7. Pay from WhatsApp
You can enable WhatsApp payments to make transactions easy and on-the-go. You can make transactions right from the WhatsApp chat without having to switch between digital wallet apps while chatting. Setting up WhatsApp payments is quite simple. Open WhatsApp > Tap the menu button on top right corner > Payments > Add payment method > Add your bank account by verifying your SMS. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.
8. Hide blue ticks and secretly check anybody’s status
ever heard of Read receipts on WhatsApp? Read receipts are the indication of the status of your message. You must have noticed the tick marks near any WhatsApp message. Let’s understand the ticks at first.
A single grey tick means the message has been sucvcessfullysent
Two grey ticks means the message has been successfully delivered to the recipient
Two blue ticks means the message has been read
Now, the fun part is WhatsApp allows you to hide the blue ticks. You can do this by disabling Read receipts. When the Read receipts is disabled, neither you nor the recipient could see the status of the message. Even if the message is read, the ticks will only appear grey.
Moreover, you can secretly see anybody’s status when Read receipts is disabled. You name will not be visible in the Viewed by list on their status. However, you won’t be able to see who viewed your status.
Here’s how to disable read receipts.
Step 1
Open WhatsApp and go to Settings
Step 2
Tap Account
Step 3
Select Privacy
Step 4
Turn the Read receipts toggle switch off
Voila! You can now hide blue ticks and secretly view anybody’s status.
Note: Read receipts are always enabled for group chats and can’t be turned off. Also, play receipts for voice messages won’t be turned off with this setting.
9. Add chat shortcut to home screen
Do you ever run out of time to ping back someone on WhatsApp and later regret if you had replied earlier? Well, there’s a way you can text anybody on WhatsApp without opening the WhatsApp application.
All you need to do is to add a shortcut of the chat to your Android phone’s home screen. Open the chat > Tap Menu button > More> Add shortcut. The chat shortcut will be there on the home screen. Move it to a place where you can easily open the chat from.
Suggested reads:
How to read deleted WhatsApp messages on Android?
How to send media on WhatsApp without losing quality?
Beware!!! A WhatsApp text bomb crashes the app and hangs your phone
FAQs
How do I hide last seen on WhatsApp?
To hide last seen in WhatsApp, go to Settings > Accounts > Privacy > Last seen. Change it from ‘Everyone’ to ‘My contacts’ or ‘Nobody.’ Note that when you disable last seen, you won’t be able to see others’ last seen either.
How do I bold text in WhatsApp?
To bold a text in WhatsApp, begin and end the text with an asterisk (*). For eg., if you want to bold World Earth Day, write it in this way, *World Earth Day*. The text will be converted to bold.
How do I Italicize and strikethrough text in WhatsApp?
To Italicize text, start and end the text with an underscore (_). For eg., if you want to Italicize World Earth Day, write it in this way, _World Earth Day_ . The text will be Italicized. To strikethrough the text, use a tilde (~) before and after the text. For eg., if you want to strike through Climate Change, write it in this way, ~Climate Change~ . The text will be struck through. These WhatsApp tricks were first introduced in 2016.
How do I voice type in WhatsApp?
Voice typing in WhatsApp is easy if you have the Gboard installed. Open the chat and locate the mic button on the keyboard. Tap the mic button and allow it to access your phone’s microphone. Next, tap on the mic button and voice out your message. The message will be converted to text. Hit send if you are satisfied with the output. Most Android phones usually come installed with Gboard as the default keyboard. However, if your phone doesn’t have Gboard installed, you can click here to install it from the Play Store.
Conclusion
WhatsApp is already an incredible app that lets you chat with your friends and other users. In order to take your WhatsApp experience to a new level, you can use these WhatsApp tips and tricks listed above. All the tricks mentioned above should work with most Android devices.
Make sure that you follow all the instructions properly on the best tips, tricks and hacks for WhatsApp. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot them in the comments area below and let us know about your favorite WhatsApp tricks on Android.
I want to retrieve Whatsapp chats from a deleted whatsapp contact., i have stored the back up (msgstore-current 2015-02.19.1.db.crypt8) to my PC. my android phone rooted also (titanium backup) I tried so many S/w like dr.fone,android recovery etc but in vain. finally using “recovermessages.com” I able to read some messages but not from the deleted whatsapp contact (to read all chats they want 150euro!!,that also I am not sure they can do also.) that I want to read.
is there any free S/W that able to do that.or any other way. if I uninstall then re-install the whats-app can i retrieve that.please help bro.
Dileesh,
Did you try restoring your messages using the method listed in this post? If that didn’t restore those chats, then there’s probably no other way.
Hi there,
Thanks for the article, it’s such very helpfull.
Btw i have a problem with my whatsapp.
My smartphone has reinstalled due to boot loop condition, so all of the
data from internal memory has gone including WhatsApp data. Could i get
back all the data (message history)?
I have not back up the latest file from the database folder (crypt8 file). Is
there any way to get that file? Or get back my message history?
Please help me to solve this problem. Looking forward for your advice
immediately.
Thanks for your attention.
Hi Paul,
What device is it that you have?
If you have a device with an external SD card, your data may still be accessible. However, this may not be the case for an internal SD device, as it sounds like it has been unfortunately formatted.
is it possible to get back the watsapp messages if the .crypt8 files deleted from watsapp database ? i did not take a google drive backup as well and Also is there any way for not to restore/retrieve watsapp messages ?
Hi Thorat,
If what you want to do is recover lost WhatsApp messages this software has worked for many. Please read it´s instructions carefully. Hope this helps. =-)
http://www.recovery-whatsapp.com/tutorials/recover-whatsapp-messages-from-android.html
Hi,
I need to restore my last 3 months whatsapp chats. I don’t have any backup in google drive, Please help to achieve this.
Note: Without Root the phone.
Another Question: I checked in whatsapp/database folder in my mobile on 12th April 2016
I m seeing crypt8 file for date 31-March, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 April (Note: 3rd April missing). Please lemme know the frequency of crypt8 file storage and also why missed April 3?
Awaiting for quick response, thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Santosh,
Maybe the April 3rd file could have been stored somewhere else. It could have been misplaced. In regards to the frequency of crypt 8. what did you mean by its frequency? Please rephrase the question. Thanks for commenting. =-)
I have deleted my conversation last month is that possible to recover now , I need past4 months messages , I have cleared conversations many times , is it possible to recover whole deleted conversations at a time .. can you please help me in this. Appreciated for immediate reply
Eagerly waiting for reply.
Hi Santosh,
Unless you backed up you messages, for example, uploading them from time to time to Google Drive, I´m afraid that there is no way to recover them since WhatsApp doesn´t save your messages on their system. But, if you are willing to use a software many have used Jisodt Android Phone Recovery. It can recover all kinds of files and the WhatsApp messages are among those things. Hope this helps. =-)
http://www.jihosoft.com/android/android-phone-recovery.html
try out whatsapp extractor from myphonedata and see if it helps you recover your whatsapp
Thanks for your suggestion, have you tried the software?
Hi ;
I had to make factory reset to my K3 device.
After this factory reset, when I try to install whatsupp application from Google play, or from web site – I see that the application is been downloaded OK, but when I press install –> installation not finished OK, and it seems that nothing happened.
I suddenly get black screen for 3 seconds, then I get empty wall paper screen.
There is no error message why installation wasn’t done.
Other games from Google play were downloaded and installed OK.
I suspect that it related somehow to security application that installed ?
Phone model: Lenovo K50-t5
Version: 5.1
Build number: Androium 2
Kernal version : 3.10.65+ (Aug 27-2015)
Thanks in advance for your help;
Ilan.
is your phone rooted? some apps will not let you install them on a rooted phone.
Hide WhatsApp Images And Videos From Appearing In Your Gallery
I have the Whats up app installed on my iphone 5. I use android tablet for creating emails and word documents From what i understand you can not send files created on a android to a iphone and it be readable. Is there away around this. I would like to keep my Whats up media out of my gallery file.
Any suggestions would be great.
Your best solution would be to simply use a different method of file sharing, such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Would that work for you?
I have Samsung Galaxy 4 mini and month ago a problem with WhatsApp appeared. Chatting is excellent, I can send photos etc but I have problem with calls. I can hear the other persons but they cannot hear me ( of course, I switched on the microphone). I tried to restart, I tried to deinstall and install again but the problem still exist. Can you help me to solve the problem?