Important features in WhatsApp: top settings everyone should know about

Despite the fact that there are millions of WhatsApp users around the world, not everyone knows all of its features. If you want to prevent people from adding you to WhatsApp groups, you can decide who should add you to the group.

Simply go to settings, click privacy, select groups, and then choose my contacts or my contacts except. The latter means that the group administrator will have to send you a private invitation via chat before you join the group, SSPDaily writes.

You will have three days to accept the invitation before it expires. While WhatsApp Groups are a great way to communicate with multiple people, if you want to leave a group for any reason, you can silently leave without notifying anyone other than the group administrators (which usually includes the person who created the group and the people they chose as administrators).

To leave a WhatsApp group on iPhone, press and hold the group name, select leave group, and then press leave. On Android, tap and hold the group name, select the three dots icon, tap leave group, and then tap exit.

If you need to turn off WhatsApp read notifications, go to settings, tap privacy, and then select turn off read notifications. However, there is currently no way to turn off read and play notifications for group chats and voice messages.

In order to make your WhatsApp messages disappear, you can make your WhatsApp messages automatically delete after a certain period of time. You can currently set it to 24 hours, one week, or 30 days. To apply it to every subsequent chat (not to existing chats - you'll have to do that manually), go to settings, select privacy, scroll down to disappearing messages, and then change disable to one of the three options. For individual chats or groups, simply go to the conversation, tap the contact or group name at the top, scroll down to disappearing messages, and then select the desired timer.

How to pin disappearing messages in WhatsApp? All you have to do is hold down the message you want to save and select the bookmark icon at the top of the screen. WhatsApp will then notify the sender that their message has been saved, giving them 30 days to authorize or reverse the decision. If they agree, the message will be saved in the chat for everyone to see and saved in a separate folder.

To mute WhatsApp chats, click on the three dots at the top of the chat and select mute notifications. The same goes for group chats, where messages can come in thick and fast. You can even choose how long to turn off the chat for: eight hours, one week, or always.

When you select a media file sent to WhatsApp, it is automatically downloaded to your phone by default. To save space, you can turn off the option by going to settings, selecting chats, and tapping turn off media visibility. You can also apply the option to individual or group chats by opening an existing chat, tapping the three dots that represent the advanced options menu, selecting view contact or group info, and then tapping media visibility to turn it off.

You can clean up your WhatsApp home page by archiving chats you no longer want to see. Simply hold down the chat you want to delete and select the archive chat symbol at the top of the page (the box with the downward arrow).

How to share your location on WhatsApp? To do this, you need to enable location permissions for WhatsApp in your phone's settings. Next, open the chat in which you want to share your location and tap attachment (paperclip icon), location, share current location. Then select the length of time you want to share your current location, add an optional comment, and tap send. You can also stop sending it in all chats by tapping the more options icon, selecting settings, then privacy and location, and then tapping stop sharing and stop.

How to edit sent messages on WhatsApp? To use this feature, simply press and hold the sent message and select edit from the menu within 15 minutes of doing so. Leave it longer and you won't be able to change the message. Messages that you change will be marked as edited so that recipients are aware of the corrections. However, they won't show a history of edits even if they've been changed multiple times.

How to block WhatsApp chats? You can block a message by selecting it and tapping the block option. To open these chats, slowly drag your inbox down and enter your phone password or biometric.

Two-step verification in WhatsApp is one of the main security methods that stands between your online data and cybercriminals. You can activate two-step verification in WhatsApp through the settings. In this section, tap account, select two-step verification, and turn it on. You will now be prompted to enter a six-digit PIN and press the confirmation button.

How to stop spam calls on WhatsApp? In the settings, under the privacy section, you will find a call option that allows you to mute unknown callers. This can include someone you haven't previously talked to or saved as a contact. In the privacy settings, we also recommend performing a privacy check by tapping the banner at the top of the screen. Here you can also block unwanted calls and messages.