5 Things to Know Before You Start Using Whatsapp
Whatsapp is one of the most used apps worldwide, with 2 billion active users each month. That’s an astonishing number as just a few years ago, that number was less than half. Because of the growth in popularity, we’re seeing more and more people join Whatsapp on a daily basis, with many of these users having no familiarity with how it works.
For new users, Whatsapp might be a little overwhelming, but thankfully it can be easy to master the app. If you’re one of the people that hasn’t yet joined Whatsapp but want to get in on the action, we have some tips on getting started. Follow these five things you need to know before you start using Whatsapp, and you’ll feel comfortable with the app in no time.
Setting Your Profile
The first thing that you’re going to want to know about Whatsapp is how to set up your profile. You can enter your phone number, and when you do, you can choose to have all of your contacts imported from your phone. This is the easiest way to make it so that you don’t have to go through and individually add every person that you know.
You can also import all of your contacts from Facebook to make things easier. This can also help you to set up your entire Whatsapp profile if you don’t feel like entering your details manually. If you do want to enter this info, though, you can do so by clicking the settings tab and changing your information in the ‘about’ section.
International Internet Importance
One of the things that people love about text messaging is that you can be just about anywhere and still get a message out. As long as you have cellular service, you don’t have to be on wifi to use Whatsapp, but it does help if you have a solid internet connection. Whatsapp has become popular as you can send texts on an international basis without being charged for international messages.
To take advantage of this and avoid the fees for texting overseas, make sure that you are connected to wifi before using Whatsapp. This will also help protect your messages better while also providing a more reliable delivery. Not all apps run better on wifi, but Whatsapp is certainly one of them that does.
Group Messages
Whatsapp became popular worldwide for a lot of reasons, with one of the most important being the ability to send group messages. This has helped keep families and groups of friends connected no matter where they are in the world. To get a group message started, simply head to the ‘broadcast lists’ tab on Whatsapp.
From there, you’ll be able to select which contacts you want to be involved with in your new group chat, and more than 250 people can be in one group. This isn’t just great for connecting with loved ones, but can also be a huge advantage for small businesses where you can send messages instantly and not worry about them not getting read like an email would.
Finding Old Messages
There will be times when someone mentioned something to you in a chat and you completely forgot what they said specifically. When this happens, many of us simply scroll up until we find the right message, but if there is a lot to sift through, it can be nearly impossible to find that exact message you were looking for.
Thankfully, Whatsapp has a feature that allows you to search through both group and individual messages to find what you were looking for. Click the contact info at the top of the screen within the chat and then on the ‘search’ button. From there, you can find keywords that were typed out in the chat, taking you to each message that contains those words.
Clearing Storage
Whatsapp is a great communication tool and allows for a lot of video and image sharing, but it can wreak havoc on your phone’s storage capacity. If you find that your storage space is getting a little bit low, you can sort through which chats are taking up the most and delete some of the images and videos that have been shared.
To do this, go to the ‘settings’ tab and then click on ‘storage and data.’ From there, you’ll be able to click ‘manage storage’ and choose the contact that you chat with the most. An option will pop up that allows you to delete all multimedia, clearing up a lot of valuable space on your phone.