Whatsapp is South Africa’s favourite messaging application according to a recent survey held by GlobalWebIndex.

Top markets for WhatsApp, Snapchat and WeChat – GlobalWebIndex

Globally it has already hit the billion user mark!

If you are also an avid user, we have a few essential Whatsapp tricks you should use.

Create Bold, Italicized or Strikethrough text

Want to emphasize your text in a message? Did you know you can change a word to be bold, italic or strikethrough? There are 2 ways to do this. You can highlight the word in the sender window, then select your formatting option from the floating menu. The second method, you simply put the applicable function symbol in front and after the part of the sentence you want to emphasize. For example:
BOLD = *bold*
ITALIC = _italic_
STRIKETHROUGH = ~strikethrough~

Quote a message in your response

With Whatsapp’s latest update you now only have to swipe right to quote a message you want to reply to!

See all shared media for a specific contact

Tired of scrolling through a whole message string to show someone a funny meme a friend shared with you? There is a quicker way! At the top right hand corner of your message window you will find 3 dots. Click on it and select Media. You can now see all the Media, Documents & Links you shared and received from that specific contact.

Live location tracker

Not only can you share a location pin by tapping the paperclip in the message field and choosing Location, you can also share your live location! All you need to do is tap Location > Share Live location, and specify a period of time to be tracked, ranging from 15 minutes to eight hours.

Create a custom notification for a contact

We are all constantly getting flooded with messages. You don’t want to be checking your phone the whole time. You can now customize notification settings for individuals or groups.

To set it up, enter a chat with the desired contact. From here you have to tap their name at the top of the chat window and choose Custom notifications.

Once you’ve entered this menu, you’ll want to tick the box labelled Use custom notifications and scroll down to the next field to customize the alert. Customization options include changing the message tone, and tweaking the LED notification color for the contact.

Use Whatsapp on your PC

Did you know you can use Whatsapp on your computer? If you prefer a full-size keyboard or just like the convenience of the big screen, WhatsApp Web is one of the best features for you.

Visit web.whatsapp.com on your computer. The website will display a QR code. On your phone, tap the three dot menu in the top right corner, then select WhatsApp Web to launch the QR code reader. Now, scan the website’s QR code via your phone’s QR code reader and you are all set.