6 Hidden WhatsApp Tricks That Every User Needs To Know

HuffPost India  |  By Sriram Sharma

Posted: 02/06/2015 11:53 IST Updated: 02/06/2015 12:03 IST

There are no certification courses for WhatsApp, but mastering the app can help you save bandwidth, get a proper nights sleep, and keep a curb on stalkers.

If you’re a seasoned WhatsApp user, you probably know how to share contacts, photos, videos, audio, and your personal location. You probably know how to get WhatsApp on your PC as well, or do voice calls. Here are some hidden features in WhatsApp that will let you use it like a boss.

• 1
  Archive chats
  
  This feature lets you hide a conversation from your chat tab, and access it later, if needed. To do so, long press on a chat you wish to hide, and select Archive chat. You can also choose to archive all chats by tapping on Chat Settings, Archive All Chats. Using this feature doesn’t delete or back up the chat on your SD card.
• 2
  Mute group chats
  
  Group chats can get a bit too noisy at times, if you would like to turn off notifications, tap the Menu button, and hit Mute, and choose the timeframe for which you would like the group to be muted.
• 3
  Hide your Last Seen time
  
  By default, WhatsApp broadcasts your the last time you checked the app and provides a read receipt in the form of two blue ticks when the message is read by you. To disable this feature, head to Settings > Account > Privacy, and tap on Last seen, and change the option to Nobody. Turning this feature off works both ways, you won’t be able to see the Last seen details of other users as well.
• 4
  Add a shortcut to a group or chat to your home screen
  
  A long-press on the a group or chat menu presents you with the option of adding a shortcut on your home screen. If you are a Cyanogen OS user, you can drag app icons into a password protected folder for added privacy.
• 5
  Save bandwidth by disabling media from auto-downloading
  
  WhatsApp lets you specify when you want images, audio and video should be auto-downloaded on your phone. It’s available in Settings > Chat settings > Media auto-download, and lets you specify these options when on mobile data, Wi-Fi, and roaming.
• 6
  Find out when a message was read
  
  Everyone knows that two blue ticks is a read notification, but did you know you can long press on the sent message, and tap on the (i) icon to see exactly when a message was read.