WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One unique feature that many WhatsApp users take advantage of is the ability to send messages to yourself. But what exactly is the purpose of messaging yourself on WhatsApp?
Quick Overview of Messaging Yourself
Messaging yourself on WhatsApp simply means sending a message within a WhatsApp chat to your own phone number. This creates a personal chat thread where you can send notes, reminders, files, photos, audio messages, and anything else to yourself. Some key things to know:
- You must have your phone number registered on WhatsApp to message yourself
- Start a new chat and type in your phone number to create the self-chat
- This chat will only be visible to you, not anyone else
- You can pin the self-chat to always have quick access to it
Now let’s explore some of the most common and beneficial uses for self-messaging on WhatsApp.
Taking Personal Notes and Reminders
One of the most popular uses for self-messaging is to make notes and set reminders for yourself. It provides a simple way to quickly jot down thoughts, ideas, to-do lists, shopping lists, and any other personal notes you want to save.
For example, you can send yourself a voice note with reminders for errands to run, movies to watch, books to read, and other notes. You can easily go back and review the messages later. It keeps all your personal notes conveniently in one place instead of scribbling them down on paper or various apps.
Key Benefits
- Consolidates all your personal notes and reminders in one place
- Easily record voice notes to yourself when you don’t have time to type
- You always have your notes with you in the WhatsApp app
- Can pin the chat so it’s always at the top of your messages
- Notes are secure and not visible to anyone else
Storing Important Information
In addition to brief notes and reminders, you can also use self-messaging on WhatsApp to store more detailed important information you may need access to later. This might include:
- Passwords and login details
- Credit card numbers or account numbers
- Physical or digital copies of documents and certificates
- Travel details such as flight/hotel confirmations
- Quotations and billing/invoice details for work
- Instructions or manuals for reference
Storing confidential information via self-messaging lets you access it anytime while keeping it private and secure within WhatsApp.
Key Benefits
- Safely store sensitive info encrypted within WhatsApp
- Avoid losing physical documents and certificates
- Quickly share details with others when needed right from WhatsApp
- Access travel records and other details if originals are lost
- Have important work files with you without needing email or cloud storage
Sending Files, Photos, Audio to Yourself
Self-messaging on WhatsApp is a great way to quickly transfer files and media between your own devices. For example:
- Send photos from your phone to your computer
- Forward voice notes from your secondary phone to your main device
- Share documents from your tablet to your phone
This avoids needing to use email or cloud storage if you just want to quickly transfer something to another one of your devices. It takes advantage of WhatsApp’s user-friendly media sharing capabilities.
Key Benefits
- Quickly transfer files between your own devices
- Avoid needing email or cloud storage just for personal file sharing
- Easy way to share photos between phone and computer
- Conveniently save media from secondary devices to your main device
Collaborating With Yourself on Projects
An interesting use case for self-chatting is to collaborate with yourself on projects and documents. For example, if you are working on an article, story, presentation, or report, you can message yourself drafts to review and iterate on.
You can send yourself:
- Draft outlines
- Rough copies
- Edited revisions
- Final versions
This provides a quick way to share drafts between devices as you work on something. You can view previous drafts and track progress of a document within your self-chat.
Key Benefits
- Work on projects seamlessly across multiple devices
- Use self-chat to review and provide feedback on your own drafts
- Store all drafts, revisions, and final versions in one place
- Avoid cluttering your actual conversations and groups with draft work
Creating Quick Logs or Records
Messaging yourself is helpful for creating quick logs or records of certain events, transactions, interactions, etc. For example:
- Log a payment transaction for your records
- Note mileages for expense reporting at work
- Keep a diary or journal with daily personal thoughts
- Track fitness activity or food intake for health goals
Having these quick logs and records conveniently in your self-chat makes it easy to go back and reference activity or find details at a later point.
Key Benefits
- Create quick transaction logs for personal finance
- Avoid incorrect mileage or fitness tracking if you forget to log it elsewhere
- Keep a private personal diary easily accessible in WhatsApp
- Have records of activities easily searchable when needed
Backing Up Important Conversations
You can also use self-messaging as a way to back up important conversations or details from other WhatsApp chats. For example, you may want to:
- Save an address that was shared in a group chat
- Record special memories sent to you privately
- Archive transaction records sent by a business
By forwarding these details to your self-chat, you have them stored securely in case something happens to the original chats.
Key Benefits
- Creates a backup of key details if you leave WhatsApp groups
- Saves special memories and photos privately if you lose your chat history
- Stores transaction details and communications with businesses
Scheduling Messages and Reminders
WhatsApp has a schedule message feature that lets you queue up messages to be sent at a specific date and time in the future. While this is commonly used to schedule messages to others, you can also schedule messages and reminders to yourself.
Some examples include:
- Scheduling a reminder of an early morning meeting
- Scheduling a checklist or set of tasks for your day
- Scheduling birthday or anniversary messages to your future self
This can help you remember events, deadlines, tasks, and special occasions even if you won’t have access to your phone at the needed time.
Key Benefits
- Never forget an early morning commitment or deadline
- Wake up to a prepared checklist and schedule
- Makes sure important personal events aren’t forgotten
- Avoid needing multiple reminder apps for different needs
Using Self-Chat as a Motivational Tool
In addition to task-driven functions, some users leverage self-messaging for motivation, inspiration, and reflection.
Examples include:
- Sending yourself encouraging messages
- Scheduling inspirational quotes to start your day
- Reflecting on progress towards your goals
- Celebrating successes and milestones
Using your self-chat thread as a personal cheerleader or confidant can help boost your mood and motivation when needed.
Key Benefits
- Stay encouraged through motivational messages from yourself
- Reflect on growth and achievements
- Get inspired and boost self-esteem
- Enhance positivity and mental health
Troubleshooting Technical Issues
An unexpected benefit of self-messaging is troubleshooting tech issues with your device or WhatsApp account. Some examples where sending yourself messages can help include:
- Testing connectivity if messages won’t send
- Checking if deleted messages are being archived
- Confirming your number is still linked properly to your account
If you are having problems with WhatsApp, try messaging yourself as an easy diagnostic test. This can often provide useful information about the cause of the issues.
Key Benefits
- Quickly test connectivity or account issues
- Check if problems sending messages are device-specific
- Confirm number linking and data settings
- Troubleshoot bugs or glitches
Conclusion
While messaging yourself may seem odd at first, it can serve many practical purposes. Whether you want to store important info, collaborate with yourself on projects, log records, or just jot quick notes, self-chatting on WhatsApp makes these activities simple. With so many potential benefits, it’s no wonder why messaging yourself is such a popular hack among WhatsApp power users.