WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world, with over 2 billion active users. The platform is packed with features like texting, voice and video calling, group chats, Stories, and more. While WhatsApp works great out of the box, there are many hidden tricks and tweaks that can enhance your messaging experience on Android. In this comprehensive guide, we will show you How to tweak WhatsApp on Android step-by-step.
Enable Chat Heads
One of the most useful WhatsApp tweaks on Android is to enable Chat Heads for your conversations. This Facebook Messenger-style feature allows you to pin a chat head for a specific contact on your screen. This chat head floats on top of other apps so that you can quickly access that chat without having to switch back and forth between apps. Here’s how to enable Chat Heads in WhatsApp for Android:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
- Go to Settings > Chat Settings.
- Tap on Chat Heads and toggle it on.
Once enabled, you can long press a chat in your main WhatsApp screen and tap on ‘Pin’. This will pin the chat head for that contact on your home screen, which you can freely move around and access.
Use Dual WhatsApp Accounts
The standard WhatsApp only allows you to use one account per phone number. However, you can use dual WhatsApp accounts on Android by taking advantage of the ‘Dual Apps’ feature. Here’s how to set it up:
- Go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > Dual Messenger.
- Tap on ‘WhatsApp’ and toggle on the switch.
- This will install a second copy of WhatsApp on your phone.
- Log in to your second WhatsApp account using a different phone number.
You can now use two different WhatsApp accounts on the same Android phone seamlessly. The second account will be labeled ‘Dual WhatsApp’ to avoid confusion between the two logins.
Hide ‘Blue Ticks’ Read Receipts
By default, WhatsApp shows ‘blue ticks’ to indicate when a recipient has read your message. You can stop sending read receipts or hide ‘blue ticks’ by tweaking your WhatsApp settings:
- Open WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy.
- Tap on ‘Read Receipts’ and disable it.
This will stop your WhatsApp account from sending read receipts to anyone. Other users will no longer see blue ticks for your messages.
Customize Notifications
You can customize your WhatsApp notifications according to contacts and groups. This allows you to specify custom notification tones, vibration patterns, popup notifications etc. for different chats.
To tweak WhatsApp notifications per chat:
- Open chat > Tap name/profile picture > Custom Notifications.
- Enable ‘Use custom notifications’ and customize as needed.
You can also block notifications entirely for certain chats by toggling off ‘Notifications’ in this menu. This is great for muting annoying groups or contacts.
Auto Night Mode
WhatsApp’s Night Mode switches the app to a darker theme to prevent eye strain in low light conditions. You can set Night Mode to automatically enable at a specified time.
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Theme.
- Tap on ‘Dark’ to enable dark mode.
- Enable ‘Set as Default.’
- Tap on ‘Night Mode’ and set a schedule.
This will automatically switch WhatsApp to Night Mode between your chosen timings daily.
Set Up Fingerprint Lock
You can add an extra layer of security to WhatsApp by enabling fingerprint lock on Android. This will require your fingerprint authentication everytime you open WhatsApp. Here’s how to set it up:
- Open WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy.
- Enable ‘Fingerprint lock’ option.
- Confirm your fingerprint.
Once enabled, WhatsApp will ask for your fingerprint scan before opening up chats. You can also customize the auto lock time period before fingerprint is required again.
Increase Media Upload Limit
By default, WhatsApp only allows you to send media up to 16MB in size. You can tweak this limit to attach and send larger video or photo files up to 100MB in size:
- Install the GBWhatsApp or WhatsApp Plus mod APK.
- Open Settings and enable ‘Increase media upload limit.’
- Set the desired limit up to 100MB.
This mod allows you to share full HD videos and high resolution photos seamlessly on WhatsApp.
Mark Chats as Unread
If you want to come back and read a conversation later, there’s a handy trick to mark WhatsApp chats as unread on Android:
- Long press the chat you want to mark unread.
- Tap the three dot menu.
- Select ‘Mark as Unread.’
This will mark the entire chat as unread. The next time you open WhatsApp, you’ll see the chat labeled ‘unread’ so you remember to check it again.
Hide WhatsApp Photos & Videos
All your WhatsApp media gets automatically saved to your phone’s main Photos and Videos apps. You can prevent this and keep your WhatsApp media private using the steps below:
- Open WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Media Visibility.
- Disable ‘Show media in Photos app’ option.
This will stop WhatsApp media getting added to your local storage. Everything will stay within WhatsApp only.
Resize Images Before Sending
To save mobile data, you can compress images within WhatsApp before sending to retain quality without consuming large file size:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Data and Storage Usage.
- Enable ‘Low Data Usage’ and set max image upload size.
Alternatively, open the image you want to send and resize it using any photo editing app before attaching to your WhatsApp chat.
Text Formatting Shortcuts
WhatsApp allows you to format text easily just like you would on a computer. Here are some handy text formatting shortcuts:
- *text* – Bold text
- _text_ – Italic text
- ~text~ – Strikethrough text
- `text` – Monospace text
Simply enclose your text in symbols to quickly bold, italicize or format text.
Email Chats & Media
You can email entire WhatsApp conversations, along with photos, videos and documents attached, directly from the app using the Email chat option:
- Open chat > Tap More options > Email chat.
- Enter email address and tap Send.
This will email the entire chat thread as a HTML file which neatly organizes messages, media and documents.
View Status Privately
Don’t want someone to know you’ve viewed their WhatsApp Status update? Use WhatsApp’s private reply feature:
- Tap on status update and tap ‘View Once’ option.
- View status and close it.
- Your view will not be shown in view receipt.
This allows you to discreetly view WhatsApp Status updates posted by contacts without them knowing.
Share Your Live Location
Going on a trip or sharing your commute? WhatsApp allows you to share your real-time location on a map with contacts. Here’s how it works:
- Open chat > Attach > Location > Share Live Location.
- Choose duration and tap Share.
The contact will get a live map with your location pin moving in real-time for the chosen duration. Share live location for road trips, meetups etc.
Conclusion
WhatsApp comes packed with many customizable features allowing you to tweak the messaging experience on Android as per your needs. Use the tips outlined in this article to enable chat heads, hide blue ticks, increase media sizes, auto night mode, text shortcuts, share live location and more. With these handy WhatsApp tricks, you can transform and personalize your favorite messaging app.