WhatsApp’s monthly user base has grown to nearly two billion by now. In addition to instant messaging and sending stickers and GIFs, the messaging platform includes a few hidden treasures and features.
WhatsApp for iPhone requires some slight movement around the app, unlike its counterpart (Android), which offers options and settings that make it easy for its users.
Did you know that WhatsApp for iPhone has built-in gestures to navigate its features and options quickly? But the whole experience will be productive only when you get the hang of the gestures easily.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 14 tricks for using WhatsApp for an iPhone like a pro.
These tricks are highlighted below: Download WhatsApp for iPhone
1. Pin Chat
After using WhatsApp for iPhone for quite a while, the app’s home screen fills up with chats.
Keeping track of the most important can become a time-consuming process, mostly because you will have to scroll through them whenever you want to reply to or revisit a particular chat.
Thankfully, the app offers a ‘Pin option’ which allows you to stick a conversation to the top.
To get this feature, swipe left on any chat thread to see the Pin option. Then tap on the pin, and the conversation will appear at the top of all chats with a tiny pin icon.
2. Read/Unread Conversation
Avoiding a chat is tricky when you want to let the sender know that the chat has been read but has not.
Marking read for a chat thread is easy; swipe left or open a conversation and then select the Read option.
The trick comes in handy, as I mentioned earlier at the beginning of this trick. You can also follow the same gesture to mark the chat unread.
3. Mark Read All
We all have had one of those busy days where we don’t have time to check our WhatsApp messages.
Later, going through so many messages and group chats individually makes it feel like a chore. But luckily, you can get around it.
You can tap on Edit, select the chat threads, and press the “Read All option” at the bottom corner to mark the pending messages as read.
That will help whenever you are trying to avoid scrolling through group chats.
4. Read Receipt
On iOS, one can easily check the read receipt of their messages. To do that, you can quickly swipe left on any message, and the following screen will show two crucial details: “a time of message delivery and when the recipient read it.”
5. Archive Chat
Instead of deleting your chats, you can de-clutter your WhatsApp home screen by hiding them.
To do this, swipe right on any conversation and tap on the Archive Chat option.
On Android, the archive list is accessible by scrolling till you get to the bottom of the chat list, but on iOS, it’s easily reachable with just a single gesture.
To do this, swipe downward or perform a pull-down gesture on the WhatsApp home screen to reveal the Archived Chats option under the search box.
6. Mute Chat
The option to mute chats is perfect for people who love silence. However, some contacts can be annoying with random messages.
But with the Mute option, you can avoid those unnecessary distractions while working.
There are two different ways to enable this option. You can tap on the contact name from the conversation and then press the mute option at the bottom.
Or you can swipe to the left on the contact’s chat thread from the WhatsApp home screen, tap on a three-dot button, tap More, and select Mute. If you choose to unmute, you can repeat the same procedure.
7. Export Chat
Switching from Android to iOS or reverse won’t transfer all your WhatsApp messages successfully.
However, there is no easy way to move your messages officially because the official WhatsApp doesn’t support cross-platform backup using Google Drive.
That is where the Export chat option comes to the rescue.
To carry out this process, swipe left on any chat thread, tap on More, and then select Export chat.
WhatsApp will then provide you with an option to attach or exclude a media file (photos, videos, and documents).
After you choose either of the options, you will get the Share sheet to select an app for sending a copy of the exported chat.
8. Delete Chat
Deleting an unwanted chat thread from your WhatsApp is easy. To do this, swipe left on the chat you want to remove, then tap on More with three dots, and afterward, select the Delete chat option.
9. Quick Reply in Chat
In 2018, WhatsApp introduced their app, the ability to reply to a particular message with a swipe gesture.
To use this feature in a chat, swipe left on any message you have received, and you can directly start composing a reply to that message.
10. Search for a Message
What if you are in a scenario where you want to find a message and don’t want to stress yourself by scrolling through conversations?
WhatsApp has an option that lets you look for a particular word or term by going to the search box. A quick swipe-down gesture at the home screen will reveal the search box.
Also note that the search box hides in two separate scenarios: when you force-quit your app or reboot your iPhone.
When you type in a relevant term/text in the search menu, you will find search results that reveal chat threads at the top and single messages with the search keywords in bold.
11. Private Message from a Group Chat
This feature was introduced for WhatsApp for iPhone (v2.16), so you can now reply privately to a specific message from the group chat.
This feature lets you chat privately with a group member without your conversations appearing on the group chat thread.
You can reply to that message privately and engage in a private chat instead of asking questions in the group.
To use this feature, long-press the message in a group chat to reveal a rollover menu, then tap More and select Reply privately.
WhatsApp will start a direct conversation with the person automatically. The private chat will contain the message you have selected, along with the group name.
There, you can compose a reply and start a private chat.
12. Add Stickers to Images
WhatsApp added sticker support last year. With the recent update of iOS, you can add these stickers to images before sending them.
Earlier, WhatsApp only allowed the annotation of images with color filters and texts. Now, you can add stickers to give your photos a personal touch.
13. Using 3D Touch to Peek Conversation and Status
Last but not least, WhatsApp finally added the ability for iOS users to ‘Peek and Pop,’ a status with 3D Touch on iOS devices that are supported only.
To use this feature, you can merely long-press on any status from the WhatsApp contact, and a message pop out to give you a quick peek.
Also, you can perform a 3D Touch action on any chat thread to quickly review a recent conversation with the other person.
Please note that when you view a status using the 3D Touch feature, the contact is not notified that you have seen their status.
14. Lock using Touch ID/Face ID
With its recent update, v2.19.20, the messaging app now supports using Face ID and Touch ID on iPhones.
Now, you can lock and unlock your WhatsApp using the default biometrics on your device.
To activate, navigate to Settings > Account > Screen Lock. Then, switch on the option.
In Conclusion
I remember some years ago when WhatsApp received some flak for being too simple; that has changed in the past two years.
The instant messaging giants are gradually bridging the gap between casual and power users.
Adding the 3D Touch feature and the Peek and Pop API for the nifty gestures is also a welcome change.
iPhone users, especially those using iPhone 6s Plus and above, can use these tips to save them more time and make their WhatsApp experience pleasant.
