WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It offers end-to-end encryption for chats, allowing you to communicate privately. However, you may sometimes want to know if a contact has saved your number in their address book.
Unfortunately, WhatsApp doesn’t have a built-in feature to let you know if someone has saved your number. The app is designed to protect user privacy. So how do you find out if someone has your number saved without sending them a broadcast message?
Check Their Profile Photo
One simple way is to look at their profile photo. When you chat with someone who hasn’t saved your number, you’ll see a generic silhouette as their profile picture. It will be the default profile icon shown to contacts who don’t have your number stored in their address book.
If you see this generic silhouette icon, it’s a clear sign they don’t have your number saved. However, even if you can see their photo, it doesn’t guarantee they have your number saved. They may have changed their privacy settings to allow all WhatsApp users to view their profile photo.
Look for Read Receipts
Another indicator is to look for read receipts. When you chat with someone who has your number saved, you can see when they have read your messages. Little check marks will appear when the messages are delivered and read.
However, if the recipient hasn’t added your number to their address book, you won’t be able to see read receipts. You’ll only see a single check mark when the message is sent, but no indication of it being read. The lack of read receipts suggests they don’t have your number saved.
Check Their Online Status
You can also check if they have shared their online status with you. WhatsApp allows users to select who can view their last seen and online status. Options include “everyone”, “my contacts”, “my contacts except…” and “nobody”.
If someone has your number saved as a contact, you’ll be able to see their online and last seen status. But if you can’t view it, chances are they haven’t saved your number.
Call Them
Try giving them a WhatsApp call instead of sending a message. When you call someone who saved your number, WhatsApp will display your name on their caller ID. But if they haven’t added your number to their contacts, it will show your phone number instead.
To test this out, you can ask a friend with an Android phone to give you a missed call on WhatsApp without saving your number. On iPhone, you can use another number to call yourself on WhatsApp. Look at the caller ID to see if your name or number shows up.
Check Group Info
If you and the contact are both members of the same WhatsApp group, you can check the Group Info to see if they have your number saved. Open the group and tap on the group name at the top to view the members.
This will show the names or numbers of each participant. If the person you’re checking has your number saved, it will show your name. Otherwise, only your phone number will be visible.
Use Third-Party Apps
There are some third-party apps like WhatsSaved that can help identify if a WhatsApp contact has saved your number. These apps work by monitoring WhatsApp notifications and outgoing calls to detect saved contacts.
However, using such apps requires providing access to your notifications and call history. Make sure to check reviews and research the app thoroughly before installing to ensure it is legitimate and safe to use.
Send a Message from a Different Number
One guaranteed way is to send them a message using a different phone number that is not saved in their contacts. This number will show up as just a phone number instead of a contact name.
You can borrow a friend or family member’s phone to send a message to the person. Or use a temporary second phone number from a service like Burner. See if your name or just the phone number shows up on their end when they receive the message.
Look for Your Name in Group Chats
In a WhatsApp group chat, your name will appear if the person has your number saved in their contacts. But only your phone number will show up if they don’t have your contact info saved.
So pay attention to group chats you are both a part of to see if your name or number appears for them. This can reveal if they’ve added your number to their address book.
Check If You Can Rename Them
Here’s another quick way to potentially identify unsaved contacts. Tap and hold on the chat with the person in your contacts list. If the “Edit contact” option appears, they likely have your number saved.
Because if they haven’t saved your number, WhatsApp won’t allow you to edit or rename the chat info for that contact.
See If You Can Add Them to Contacts
When viewing your chat with the person, tap on their name at the top and select “Add to Contacts” if that option appears. If WhatsApp lets you add them to your phone’s contacts, it indicates their number is not saved in your address book.
Check If You Can Message Without Data/WiFi
Try sending a message to the person when your phone has no active internet connection. If the message goes through as a text SMS, it means the contact isn’t saved in their WhatsApp address book.
Because WhatsApp messages will only deliver when data is available if the recipient has your number saved. So this is one way to directly test and identify unsaved contacts.
Conclusion
While there is no direct way to know if someone has saved your number on WhatsApp, there are several useful indicators to look out for. Observe read receipts, online status, caller ID, group chat names, and options like renaming or adding contacts.
You can also try messaging from a different number or when offline to see if it delivers as SMS text instead of on WhatsApp. Be mindful not to violate anyone’s privacy and only use appropriate options to identify if your contact has saved your number.
With over 2 billion users, WhatsApp has become the most popular messaging platform globally. But its focus on privacy means there is no built-in feature to view saved contacts. The app gives users full control over their address book and settings.
So while you can try the tips mentioned to check if someone has your number stored, there is no guarantee. The other person may have tightened their privacy settings or disabled certain options.
Ultimately, whether someone saves your number or not comes down to personal choice. Don’t take it personally if they haven’t added your contact. Focus on your conversations and building rapport. If you communicate regularly, they may be more likely to save your number in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does WhatsApp notify when you save a contact?
No, WhatsApp does not send any notification when you save a contact’s number in your address book. It does not inform the contact in any way. Saving numbers is done privately without the other person being notified.
Can you see if a WhatsApp contact has you saved?
There is no direct way to see if a WhatsApp contact has saved your number. The app does not have any built-in feature for this. However, there are some signs you can look for, like read receipts, online status, and caller ID name.
Why can some contacts see my WhatsApp status?
You can control who views your WhatsApp status and online time in the app’s privacy settings. Contacts who can see your status have likely been allowed by your settings. You can change who sees it at any time from WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy.
Is there an app to know who saved your number?
Yes, there are third-party apps like WhatsSaved that can identify your saved and unsaved WhatsApp contacts. However, they require access to your notifications and call history. It’s best to research such apps thoroughly before downloading, and be cautious granting permissions.
Can someone know if you saved their number on Truecaller?
No, Truecaller does not notify or inform a contact if you save their number in your contacts list. It works privately in the background to identify numbers, so others cannot know if you have their number saved.
Methods to Identify Unsaved Contacts
| Method | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Profile Photo | Generic silhouette photo indicates unsaved number |
| Read Receipts | No read receipts suggests unsaved contact |
| Online Status | Can’t view status means number not saved |
| WhatsApp Call | Number shows instead of name if unsaved |
| Group Info | Only number visible means not saved |
| Third-party Apps | Apps like WhatsSaved identify saved contacts |
| Message from Different Number | Number not recognized indicates unsaved contact |
| SMS When Offline | Delivers as SMS if number not saved |
Tips to Identify Unsaved Contacts
Here are some top tips to identify if a WhatsApp contact has not saved your number:
- Check if you can only see a generic profile photo
- Look for read receipts and online status
- Make a WhatsApp call and see if your number appears
- In group chats, see if your name or number appears
- Try sending a message from a different number
- See if you can add them to your phone’s contacts
- Observe if you can rename the chat contact name
- Check if offline messages deliver as SMS text
While not foolproof, these tips can help indicate if the person may not have your number saved. Be mindful of privacy, and don’t make assumptions based on limited information.
Saving Contacts in WhatsApp
WhatsApp gives users full control over saving contacts in their address book. Here are some key points about managing contacts:
- You can save a number to contacts by tapping “Add to Contacts” in chat info
- Edit a saved contact by selecting “Edit Contact” from chat details
- Names are pulled from your phone’s address book for saved numbers
- Only phone numbers appear for WhatsApp contacts not saved in your phone contacts
- WhatsApp does not notify users when you save their number
- Saving numbers enables access to profile photos, online status and other info
Saving useful WhatsApp contacts makes it easier to identify and chat with them. You can organize your main contacts in your phone address book.
Names will automatically appear from syncing with your built-in phone contacts. This avoids having to remember numbers of frequent WhatsApp contacts.
Importance of Saving Contacts
Here are some of the key benefits of saving important WhatsApp contacts to your phone address book:
- Makes it easier to identify and find chats
- Avoids having long lists of phone numbers in chats
- Enables sharing useful info like online status
- Lets you directly call contacts from phone’s address book
- Syncing names avoids manually adding them in WhatsApp
- Can help filter unknown numbers and spam
- Provides quicker access to frequently used contacts
Saving key contacts ultimately enhances your WhatsApp experience. It streamlines communication and provides quick access to important chats with identifiable names. All users are advised to maintain a well-organized address book.
Respecting Privacy
When trying to identify unsaved WhatsApp contacts, it’s important to respect people’s privacy. Here are some tips:
- Don’t make assumptions if someone hasn’t saved your number
- Avoid aggressively messaging or calling to request adding to contacts
- Don’t use third-party apps or methods without the person’s consent
- If someone prefers keeping numbers unsaved, honor their choice
- Focus on building rapport and trust with conversation
You may want someone to save your number, but ultimately it’s their choice. Maintain mutual respect in your chats, and don’t take it personally if they want to keep contacts unsaved.
Conclusion
Identifying unsaved WhatsApp contacts can require some clever detective work. Look for signs like muted status, lack of read receipts, and appearing numbers instead of names.
You can also try messaging from different numbers or when offline to check if messages deliver as SMS texts instead.
While useful, these methods have limitations. Some contacts may intentionally restrict info sharing with strangers. Remember to respect people’s privacy and choices when connecting on WhatsApp.
Building rapport through great conversations is the ideal way to get contacts interested in saving your number over time. With trust and communication, contacts are more likely to whitelist you in their address book.