10 WhatsApp Tips and Tricks Everyone Should Know

For most of us, WhatsApp has become the

 default go-to messenger, because

 everyone's on it, and it's on nearly every

 platform. WhatsApp has over a billion

 downloads on Google Play alone, the

 only other messenger to boast that

 is Facebook Messenger. The app

 has made itself indispensable by

 adding a browser version and

 voice calling to its platform.

For those who have to deal with

 the app on a daily basis, we've

 lined up some interesting tricks

 and tweaks that will improve your

 user-experience.

1. Mute group chats and notifications

Group chat notifications can get
 noisy, they're best turned

 off when you have to focus
 on a task at hand.

On Android
On a group chat, tap the Menu
 button, and hit Mute. Then

, choose the time-frame for which
 you would like the group

 to be muted. You can also disable
 notifications for the

 specified period. This feature is
 now available on the

 web browser too.

On iPhone
Open Group Chat, tap the group
 subject to reveal the

 Group Info screen, and tap Mute
. Now, select how

 long you'd like notifications to be muted.

2. Find out who has read your message

 in a WhatsApp group

Read receipts, marked by two blue ticks
 indicate that

 the recipient has read your message.
 Find out who

 has read your message on group chats.

On Android
Do a long press on a message
 sent by you. This reveals

 an 'i' with a circle around it. Tapping
 on it will show you

 who the message was delivered to,
 and read by.

On iPhone
See the Message Info screen by
 opening a chat with

 a contact or a group, then swiping your message from

 the left to right to see delivery and read notifications.

3. Disable media to save on cellular bandwidth

WhatsApp lets you specify what you would like downloaded

 on mobile data and when connected to Wi-Fi.

On Android
Go to Settings, Chat Settings, Media Auto-Download

 to specify when you want images, audio and videos to be

 downloaded to your phone.

On iPhone
Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chat Settings >

 Media Auto-Download.

4. Change profile photo, status message from

 the desktop

This new feature recently added to WhatsApp Web lets you tap on your

 avatar on the left hand corner, to change your profile photo with a laptop

 camera or webcam, or a photo on your drive. The feature also works

 with groups that you are an admin of.

5. Disable Last Seen and Read Receipts aka blue ticks

By default, WhatsApp lets everyone know the last time you used the app

. Your last seen timestamp, profile photo and status message can be

 toggled between 'Everyone', 'My contacts', and 'Nobody' in Settings >

 Account > Privacy on both iPhone and Android.

Read Receipts, notified by those Blue Ticks can seem too obsessive

 and creepy. You can disable them too, but that also means you won't be

 able to see read receipts from other people.

6. Use WhatsApp Web if you're an iPhone user

Apple users cannot use WhatsApp Web on their phone without

 jail-breaking the iPhone, but once you're past that, this jailbreak

 tweak on the BigBoss Repo on Cydia enables you to use WhatsApp

 Web on your PC browser.

7. Send a broadcast message

The equivalent of Bccing your message, it's cheaper than sending

 a group SMS. The replies from your broadcast will be visible only to you.

On Android
Tap on Menu > New Broadcast, and select all the contacts you

 would like to round up for the message.

On iPhone
Tap the Broadcast Lists button at the top of the Chats screen, tap

 New List at the bottom of the screen, filter from your contact list and

 then tap Create.

8. Migrate to a new number

If you've changed your SIM card, there's a way to import your

 account information, groups and settings. Keep in mind that

 your old number will be deleted. Make sure that your new

 SIM is active and able to receive SMSes and calls.

On Android
Tap on Menu > Settings > Account > Change Number

 and enter the old phone number in the first box, followed

 by the new number in the second one.

On iPhone
Go to Settings > Account > Change Number, Enter

 your old phone number in the first box, and your new phone

 number in the second box.

9. Talk to your phone instead of typing

Not necessarily a WhatsApp tip, but if you don't have the

 time to type a message, you can send a Voice message,

 or let Google's speech to text engine, embedded in

 Google's keyboard do the transcription for you. iPhone users

 can press the little mic button to activate iOS dictation feature.

10. Explore hotspots around you

Tap on the Send location icon in the attachment pane to explore

 interesting hotspots around you. The map is a mash-up of FourSquare

 check-ins of places around you. You'll find everything from local tech

 start ups to restaurants, marked as blue dots.