You probably open WhatsApp dozens of times a day. But are you actually using it, or just scratching the surface of what it can do?
WhatsApp — now owned by Meta and with over 3 billion active users worldwide — has evolved dramatically from the simple messaging app it started as. Underneath the familiar green interface is a growing set of privacy tools, productivity features, and customisation options that most users have never touched.
In this post, we’ll walk through 10 WhatsApp tips and tricks that are genuinely useful, surprisingly underused, and available right now — no third-party apps required.
WhatsApp Key Features — A Quick Recap
Before diving into the hidden features, let’s briefly acknowledge why WhatsApp has become so central to daily communication:
- Free voice and video calls using your internet connection — no call charges, no matter where in the world the other person is
- End-to-end encryption by default on all messages, calls, and media — meaning only you and the recipient can read them, not WhatsApp, not Meta
- Share almost any file type — documents, photos, videos, audio, contacts, locations, and now HD-quality media
- Status updates — 24-hour disappearing text, photo, or video posts visible only to your contacts
- Group and personal chats — with communities now linking related groups under one umbrella
- WhatsApp Business — a separate app with automated replies, labels, and catalogue features for businesses
Now, here are the 10 features most users are missing.
10 WhatsApp Tips and Tricks You Should Be Using
1. Lock Individual Chats
This is one of WhatsApp’s most useful recent additions — and one of the least discovered. Chat Lock lets you protect any individual conversation behind your phone’s biometric security (fingerprint or Face ID), completely separately from your phone’s main lock screen.
When a chat is locked, it disappears from your main chat list into a hidden “Locked Chats” folder. Even notifications for those chats are suppressed — instead of showing the sender’s name and message preview, you’ll just see “WhatsApp: 1 new message.” Perfect for keeping sensitive conversations private even if someone else picks up your phone.
How to lock a chat:
Open the chat → tap the contact/group name at the top → scroll down → tap Chat Lock → enable it with your biometric.
To access locked chats: Swipe down on the top of your chat list — a “Locked Chats” section appears. Authenticate with your fingerprint or Face ID.
2. Edit Sent Messages (Within 15 Minutes)
We’ve all sent a message with a typo and immediately wished we could take it back. Now you can — WhatsApp lets you edit any message you’ve sent within a 15-minute window after sending it.
Edited messages show a small “(edited)” label so recipients know a change was made, but the edit history isn’t shown to them — only the final version. After 15 minutes, the edit option disappears and you’re back to Delete for Everyone as your only option.
How to edit a sent message:
Long-press the message → tap the three-dot menu → select Edit → make your changes → tap the tick to save.
3. Disappearing Messages
Disappearing messages automatically delete themselves after a set time — 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days. You can enable this for individual chats or set it as the default for all new chats.
This is particularly useful for sensitive conversations, for keeping your chat history clean without manual deletion, or simply for conversations that don’t need to live forever on both phones.
For a single chat:
Open the chat → tap the contact/group name → Disappearing Messages → choose your timer.
As default for all new chats:
Settings → Privacy → Default Message Timer → select your preferred duration.
4. Privacy Controls — Last Seen, Profile Photo, and Online Status
Most people don’t realise how granular WhatsApp’s privacy controls actually are. You can independently control who sees your last seen, your profile photo, your status updates, your online indicator, and even who can call you — setting each to Everyone, My Contacts, My Contacts Except…, or Nobody.
The “My Contacts Except…” option is particularly useful — it lets you hide your last seen or profile photo from specific people without blocking them or removing them from your contacts.
Path: Settings → Privacy → then adjust each setting individually.
Pro tip: If you turn off your own last seen visibility, you won’t be able to see others’ last seen either — WhatsApp enforces this symmetrically.
5. Status Privacy — Show Your Status to Specific People Only
Your WhatsApp Status is visible to all your contacts by default — but you can fine-tune this significantly. You can share a status with only specific contacts, or share with everyone except specific contacts.
This means you can post different things to different groups without creating multiple accounts or using any workarounds.
How to set status privacy:
Go to the Updates tab → tap Status → tap the three-dot menu or settings icon → Status privacy → choose your audience.
6. WhatsApp Web and Multi-Device Support
WhatsApp now supports up to 4 linked devices simultaneously — including WhatsApp Web in any browser, the desktop app, and even a second phone. All linked devices stay synced and fully functional even if your primary phone has no internet connection or is turned off.
To link a device (including WhatsApp Web):
- On your phone: Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device
- On your computer: open web.whatsapp.com in any browser
- Scan the QR code on your computer screen using your phone’s camera
- Your WhatsApp account is now accessible on both devices simultaneously
The desktop app (available for Windows and Mac) is generally more stable for extended use than the browser version and supports keyboard shortcuts.
7. Broadcast Lists — Message Many People Individually
WhatsApp groups are great for conversations where everyone responds. But sometimes you want to send the same message to many people without them seeing each other or cluttering a group chat.
That’s what Broadcast Lists are for. When you send a message in a broadcast, each recipient receives it as a personal message in their individual chat with you — completely privately. They don’t know they’re part of a broadcast, and their replies come only to you.
The one limitation: recipients must have your number saved in their contacts to receive broadcast messages.
How to create a broadcast:
On Android: tap the three-dot menu → New Broadcast → select contacts → tap the green tick.
On iOS: go to Chats tab → tap Broadcast Lists at the top → New List.
8. Two-Step Verification — Secure Your Account
This is the most important security feature on WhatsApp and the one most people skip. Two-step verification adds a 6-digit PIN that’s required whenever your number is registered on a new device — which means even if someone somehow intercepts your SMS verification code, they still can’t access your account without the PIN.
Given how common SIM swap attacks and account hijacking have become, this is non-negotiable for anyone who uses WhatsApp for anything sensitive.
How to enable:
Settings → Account → Two-Step Verification → Enable → set a 6-digit PIN → add a recovery email.
9. View Once — Self-Destructing Photos and Videos
Similar to disappearing messages but more immediate — View Once lets you send a photo or video that can only be viewed a single time. Once the recipient opens it, it disappears and can’t be reopened, forwarded, or saved (within the app — screenshots are still technically possible).
Useful for sharing sensitive information like passwords, documents, or anything you’d rather not have living in someone’s gallery permanently.
How to send a View Once message:
Select a photo or video to send → before hitting send, tap the “1” icon that appears next to the text field → it will show “View once” → send as usual.
10. Format Your Text — Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Monospace
WhatsApp supports basic text formatting that most users don’t know about — and it works on both Android and iOS:
- Bold: wrap text in asterisks —
*like this* - Italic: wrap in underscores —
_like this_ Strikethrough:wrap in tildes —~like this~Monospace:wrap in backticks —`like this`- Or long-press selected text and choose formatting from the toolbar that appears
These are particularly useful in group chats when you want to highlight important information, make announcements stand out, or add structure to longer messages.
Bonus: WhatsApp Channels
WhatsApp Channels (accessible from the Updates tab) let you follow one-way broadcasts from organisations, creators, sports teams, and news outlets — similar to following on Instagram or Telegram channels. You can discover channels in the directory and subscribe to receive updates without any of it appearing in your regular chats.
In 2025, WhatsApp also introduced ads in the Updates tab (in Status and Channels) for the first time — though these remain completely separate from your personal chats, which stay ad-free.
Frequently Asked Questions About WhatsApp
Q: Can I use WhatsApp on two phones at the same time?
A: Yes — WhatsApp now supports linking up to 4 devices to a single account, including a second phone. Go to Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device on your primary phone and follow the prompts on the second device.
Q: Can I read a WhatsApp message without the sender seeing the blue ticks?
A: Yes. Turn on Airplane Mode before opening the message — the message loads but the read receipt can’t be sent without an internet connection. Close WhatsApp before turning Airplane Mode off. Note: this only works if read receipts are currently enabled; if you’ve already disabled them in Settings, it’s not needed.
Q: Is WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted?
A: Yes — all personal messages, calls, and media on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default. This means only you and the recipient can access them. Even WhatsApp/Meta cannot read your messages. Backups to Google Drive or iCloud are also now optionally end-to-end encrypted.
Q: What’s the difference between WhatsApp groups and broadcast lists?
A: In a group, everyone can see each other’s messages and who is in the group. In a broadcast, each person receives your message as an individual private message — they have no idea others received the same message, and replies come only to you privately.
Q: How do I stop people from adding me to WhatsApp groups?
A: Go to Settings → Privacy → Groups and set it to “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except…” — this restricts who can add you to groups without your approval. Anyone not on your allowed list will have to send you a private group invite link instead, which you can accept or reject.
Q: Does WhatsApp have ads?
A: Your personal chats, calls, and groups remain completely ad-free. In 2025, WhatsApp introduced ads in the Updates tab (within Status and Channels) — but these are contained to that tab only and don’t appear anywhere in your personal messaging.
Conclusion
WhatsApp’s best features are often the ones that take the least effort to set up but pay off every day. Two-step verification takes two minutes and protects your account from hijacking. Chat Lock is a 30-second setup that adds a meaningful privacy layer. Message editing saves you from looking careless. Broadcast lists make mass communication feel personal.
Start with the security features (two-step verification, Chat Lock) and work your way through the rest at your own pace. By the time you’ve explored all ten, you’ll be using WhatsApp in a way that actually works for you rather than just with it.
Found one you’d never seen before? Or have a WhatsApp question that isn’t covered here? Drop it in the comments — happy to help.