Use WhatsApp

This article teaches you how to set up and use WhatsApp on your mobile phone.

Steps

Setting Up WhatsApp

  1. Download-WhatsApp. It's free to download from your phone's app store.
  2. Open WhatsApp. It's the green app with a white phone icon. You'll need to set up WhatsApp before you can use it to send a text.
  3. Tap OK when prompted. This will allow WhatsApp to access your contacts.
  4. Tap Agree & Continue. It's at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Type in your phone number. You'll enter this in the text field in the middle of the page.
  6. Tap Done. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so will prompt WhatsApp to send a text message with a verification code.
    • On Android, tap Next at the bottom of the screen instead.
  7. Open your phone's messages. It's the green app with a white speech bubble.
  8. Tap the message from WhatsApp. It will say "Your WhatsApp code is [###-###] but you can simply tap on this link to verify your device" followed by a link.
  9. Enter your code in the field provided. As long as you don't mistype, this will confirm your phone's identity and redirect you to the account creation page.
  10. Enter your name and a photo. While the photo is optional, adding one will help confirm your identity to other contacts.
    • If you've downloaded WhatsApp before, you'll first have an option to Load a Backup on WhatsApp.
    • You can also tap Use Facebook Info to use your Facebook picture and name.
  11. Tap Next to continue. You are now ready to send a message with WhatsApp.

Sending and Managing Chats

  1. Tap the Chats tab. It's either at the bottom of the screen (iPhone) or at the top of the screen (Android). Doing so will open the Chats page, from which you can view and send chats.
  2. Tap the "New Message" option. It's in the top-right corner of the screen; on iPhone, it resembles a pencil and pad, whereas it resembles a speech bubble on Android. From here, you can do a few different things:
    • Tap New Group to add WhatsApp contacts to a group message.
    • Tap a contact's name to open a new chat with them. You'll only see contacts here who installed WhatsApp listed here.
  3. Type your message into the text field. This field is at the bottom of a contact (or group) chat page.
  4. Tap the "Send" button. It's the white paper plane icon on a blue background to the right of the text field. Doing so will send your message; from this point on, your message history will appear as a conversation on the "Chats" page.
    • If you leave the conversation to have a different conversation, you can navigate back to this conversation by tapping its name (group conversation) or the contact's name (one-on-one conversation) on the "Chats" page.
  5. Tap the "Attachments" icon. It's a left of the text field on iPhone and a paperclip at the top of the screen on Android. You can select any of the following attachments to send:
    • Camera - Opens your camera so you can take an original photo to send. If you haven't allowed WhatsApp access to your camera yet, do so when prompted.
    • Photo & Video Library or Gallery - Opens your phone's "Pictures" app so you can select a picture to send.
    • Document - Prompts you to choose a cloud service (e.g., Google Drive) from which to attach your file.
    • Location - Allows you to send a map of your location. If you haven't yet allowed WhatsApp access to your location services, do so when prompted.
    • Contact - Allows you to tap a contact's name in order to send their information (e.g., name and phone number).
  6. Tap and hold the microphone icon. It's on the right side of the text field that's at the bottom of the page; doing so will prompt WhatsApp to begin recording an audio file that you can send to a friend.
    • When you're done recording, simply let go of the microphone icon to send the file.
  7. Make a phone or video call. To do so, tap the phone or video camera icon (respectively) in the top right corner of the screen. If your contact chooses to accept your call, you'll be able to speak like you usually would on the phone.
    • Since phone and video calls can eat up a lot of data, make sure you're connected to Wi-Fi when doing this.
  8. Tap the "Back" button. It's in the top-left corner of the screen. Doing this will take you back to the "Chats" page.
    • If you ever open WhatsApp to find it has opened a conversation, you only need to tap the "Back" button to return to the "Chats" page and reveal the WhatsApp toolbar.

Changing the Settings

  1. Tap Settings. On iPhone, this option is in the bottom-right corner of the screen as long as you don't have a conversation open. On Android, first tap ⋮ in the top-right corner of the screen--the "Settings" option will be at the bottom of the drop-down menu there.
  2. Tap your profile picture and name. This option is at the top of the page; tapping it will allow you to view and change your name, picture, or phone number.
  3. Tap the "Back" button. It's in the top-left corner of the screen; doing so will return you to the "Settings" menu.
  4. Tap Account. This section is where you go to change privacy settings such as what other users can see (e.g., when you're online) as well as to delete your account if you're so inclined.
    • Tap the "Back" button when you're finished here.
  5. Tap Chats. Doing so will allow you to change chat-related options, such as when the chats back up or how pictures are stored.
    • Tap the "Back" button when you're finished here.
  6. Tap Notifications. You can manage your in-app notifications from this page.
    • Tap the "Back" button when you're finished here.
  7. Tap Data and Storage Usage. On Android, it's just Data usage. You can change the ways in which photos, audio, videos, and documents are downloaded to your phone (e.g., over Wi-Fi versus over cellular data) here.
    • Tap the "Back" button when you're finished here.

Tips

  • WhatsApp is supported by iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia. It is cross-platform so anyone with those phones can message each other.
  • If you find that you only have a few contacts who use WhatsApp, you can invite contacts to join WhatsApp.
  • When your "Chats" page gets too cluttered, consider Delete Old Messages on WhatsApp.

Warnings

  • Turning on "Save Incoming Media" will automatically download all photos and videos that your friends send you through chats. This may incur additional data charges, so turn it off if you have a limited data plan. You can always download media individually that you want to save.
  • If you have a limited data plan, using WhatsApp may incur additional charges to your phone bill if you are not connected to Wi-Fi. Shut off WhatsApp when you are connected to a 3G or 4G mobile network to avoid additional data charges.

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