Useful features of WhatsApp for IOS and Android users

WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps with more than one billion users across the world.

The application goes through constant changes and updates are now common. Here's a look at six major features that are very useful for every smartphone user.

The popular messaging app now allows you to send private replies to a friend, you may want to respond privately in a group. The feature makes life easy by ending the ordeal of finding the one-to-one chat you have with a particular person.

Here's how IOS and Android users can switch this feature on.

IOS: Press and hold a message in a group chat>select more>reply Privately. The message will appear in your one-to-one chat with the text box below, as it does if you reply to a specific message like above.

Android: Press and hold a message in a group chat>select the three buttons in the top right corner>reply privately. The message will appear in your one-to-one chat with the text box below, as it does if you reply to a specific message like above.
Some people in our lives are more important than the others, one may want to see a chat always on top for personal or business purposes. In case you still didn't know, WhatsApp now allows you to pin important chats.

You can pin the chats on top even if there are no new messages or notifications to access them faster. WhatsApp currently allows three chats to be pinned on the top.

IOS users: Simply swipe right on the chat and select the option to pin. You can also unpin the chat in the same manner.

Android users: Simply long-press on the chat message you want to pin and hit the pin icon on the top bar of the app.

Find the person you message the most
In the age of social media, friendship is all about how much data you share with each other. WhatsApp now allows you to see that information and form a ranked list of favorite friends.

Not only this, if you click through the application it also allows a user to mass delete stuff that’s occupying too much space in the phone.

How: Head to settings > data and storage usage > storage usage and you’ll see a list of your most important groups and contacts ranked according to the data you’ve shared with them.

If a particular WhatsApp group or chat is taking too much storage space, you can delete messages, chats, videos, and audio from a specific conversation.

Go to Settings>> ‘Data and Storage usage’

Select ‘Storage Usage’ and you will see all groups and contacts ranked according to the storage space they are hogging.

Select the group and tap on the ‘manage messages’ option at the bottom.

Now, select and clear whatever data (videos, GIFs, Photos, etc.) that you wish to get rid of.

Call-waiting
The application has also introduced a call waiting feature which allows users to receive an incoming call while they are already in the middle of another call. Earlier, the users did not have such an option.

The feature is available for download on Google Play Store and App Store.

Fingerprint authentication
If you have privacy concerns, then use the fingerprint verification for WhatsApp. The authentication is similar to the fingerprint lock of a smartphone.

If you want to switch on the feature the go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint Lock.