Three secret WhatsApp hacks you need to know – including VANISHING texts

WHATSAPP has some great features that many people forget to take advantage of.

Below are three of the best WhatsApp hacks that could improve your overall messaging experience.

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WhatsApp has a useful ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature[/caption]

How to make WhatsApp messages vanish

WhatsApp lets you send disappearing messages that self-destruct after a week.

It works a bit like Snapchat messages, boosting your privacy by killing off potentially sensitive messages.

When you enable disappearing messages, they vanish after seven days – though messages sent prior to changing settings won’t be affected.

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Disappearing messages could save you from future embarassment[/caption]

Here’s how to turn it on:

• Open the WhatsApp chat
• Tap the contact’s name
• Tap Disappearing Messages
• If prompted, tap Continue
• Select On

You can disable it using the same method.

But be warned: there are several ways someone could capture your message before it’s deleted.

This includes if someone forwards your message to a different chat before the seven days is up or if they screenshot it.

How to ‘Broadcast’ WhatsApp messages

The little-known ‘Broadcast’ feature will send the same message to lots of contacts without having to set up a Group Chat.

Broadcast Lists are a great way to avoid having too many Group Chats but still be able to tell people the same information.

For example, maybe you want to announce an engagement or birth or simply ask all of your friends if they’re free to hang out.

Importantly, no one else sees the recipient’s replies.

“When they reply, it will appear as a normal message in your Chats screen,” WhatsApp explains.

WhatsApp Broadcast on iOS:

• Go to your Chats screen and click Broadcast Lists to the left of your screen underneath the search bar
• Then click New List, select the contacts you want and then click ‘Create’
• Then type the Message you want to send to all of them

WhatsApp Broadcast on Android:

• Go to your Chats screen and then click Menu
• Then click New Broadcast and add the relevant contacts before creating

How to bookmark WhatsApp messages

Sometimes important messages can get lost in a stream of conversations.

WhatsApp has a feature that allows you to bookmark messages so you can easily find them in the Starred Messages section of your chat.

This is useful if you need to remember a particular date or even a meet up location.

How to use WhatsApp Starred Messages:

• Go to your Chats screen and click on the relevant chat
• Find the message you want to bookmark and hold it down
• A menu should pop up and you need to click ‘Star’
• Then click on the contact’s name at the top of the chat to open the info menu where you’ll find a section called Starred Messages

In other news, Twitch live-streamers Amouranth and Indiefoxx have been banned from the platform after sharing microphone licking videos.

Apple users have been urged to consider deleting Google Maps after a report highlighted how much personal data the app collects.

And, China is claiming to be a world leader in 6G technology, according to reports.

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