WhatsApp’s 5 cool tricks that every user needs to know

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app in India with 400 million active users. The Facebook-owned firm keeps adding new features regularly to make the platform more engaging and convenient. While peer-to-peer messaging is still the core feature, users can also post Status updates, share stickers and even make group video calls.

If you're a regular WhatsApp user, here are some of the cool tricks you should try out.

Download WhatsApp Status

Similar to Instagram Stories, WhatsApp gives users to post Status videos. But did you know you can also download status updates including photos and videos of your friends from Status feed?

One of the easiest ways is to download and install a third-party app called Status downloader. This free-to-download app on Play Store allows you to download images and share videos. The app automatically scans the Status photos you've seen on your phone and allows you to download and repost it.

Another way is downloading a Files app. While it works with Google Files, you can also download ES File Explorer app. Just tap on any Status and let the photo to fully load. Now open the File app and go to WhatsApp > choose media > Status. Note you need to enable 'show hidden files' in the app.

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Who is making your storage full?

Which contact or group sends you images and videos the most? To find out, open WhatsApp on your smartphone. Go to Settings > Open Data and storage usage > Storage usage. You will see a list of contacts including groups who are consuming your storage. The list is chronologically set based on volume (MB or GB).

Make WhatsApp data friendly

Low on data? WhatsApp offers a bunch of features to optimise the platform in such situation. First you can disable media auto-download. Go to Settings > Open Data and storage usage > choose between the options such as media auto-download when using mobile data or when connected on Wi-Fi. You can also enable low data usage when making a WhatsApp call. The feature is available on this window as well.

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Listen voice messages discreetly

Don't have headphones around to check the voice message you've just received? Well, just tap on the play button of the voice message and hold the phone as you'd do while making a call. WhatsApp automatically stops using speakers to play the message and instead plays it through earpiece of the phone.

Format texts

You can also customise the WhatsApp text formatting. While there are a bunch of third-party apps that change font colour and style, you can also use some of the basic commands to format. To send a message in bold, type *example*. For italics, try _example_. For strikethrough text, type ~example~.