WhatsApp has accumulated multiple versions with several hidden tricks over the past 10 years – some of them possibly unknown to some of the 1.5 billion monthly active users. They are functions that involve ways to interact in the application without being seen, or discover sensitive information, such as the people who blocked you or who recorded your number in the phonebook. Here are five features of WhatsApp for Android phones and iPhone (iOS) that you probably don’t know about.
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1. Read deleted messages for everyone
WhatsApp has allowed, since November 2017, to delete messages for all members of the conversation within seven minutes after sending – or for longer when using a trick. Few know, however, that the mechanism can be circumvented on Android to circumvent the removal of content (in text and audio). The secret is to use the Notification History app, which allows you to retrieve the notification history from your phone and read any text or voice message received, even if it has already been deleted from the chat. The operation of the app consists of saving a history of the notifications you receive. So, even if something is deleted on WhatsApp, it is recorded in the app and you can access it later.
Notification History app allows you to read and listen to deleted WhatsApp messages – Photo: Reproduction / Helito Beggiora
2. Find out if a contact added their number to the phonebook
Not adding a contact number to your phonebook is an old trick to hide from someone without having to block it. But, the solution is not foolproof: with functions offered by WhatsApp itself, it is possible to find out if someone did this to you. The first thing to do is to notice if the contact appears without a photo, doesn’t go online and doesn’t even have posts on WhatsApp Status, but still manages to interact with you.
If the doubt remains, it is possible to try another solution involving mailing lists: only contacts who have their number in the phonebook receive messages of this type. See how to test on Android or iOS.
Step 1. Access the WhatsApp menu and create a new transmission list;
Create a transmission list on WhatsApp – Photo: Reproduction / Paulo Alves
Step 2. Select at least two contacts, one with a suspicion of not having your number and one that you are sure you have. Send any message in the conversation;
Include in the list a contact who may not have your number on the agenda – Photo: Reproduction / Paulo Alves
Step 3. Press the message sent to open the drop-down menu and tap the “i” at the top (on the iPhone, the button is named “Data”). Look at the delivery confirmation list: if the contact did not actually record your number, it will never appear there.
See if the suspicious contact appears in the delivery list – Photo: Reproduction / Paulo Alves
3. Know if the contact has read the message (even without a blue check)
Audios always send a reproduction receipt when they are heard, so they can be used to find out when a contact has read your message even though he has disabled the read confirmation (blue check). Open a conversation in which the person is suspected of having read it, but insists on not responding, and send an audio. If the blue ticks appear on the side, the text content sent above has already been read.
WhatsApp audio always shows blue check – Photo: Playback / Raquel Freire
4. Listen to audios in a hidden way
If you are on the other side of the conversation and do not want incoming audios to report you, it is possible to circumvent WhatsApp behavior with an ingenious solution. First, add your own number to the phonebook and start a chat with yourself. From then on, just forward the audios to this chat and listen there without being discovered by the sender. Blue checks do not appear and therefore it is possible to reproduce messages without being detected.
Listen to WhatsApp audios in a conversation with yourself to not be discovered – Photo: Reproduction / Helito Bijora
5. Find out who blocked you
There are at least five ways to find out if someone has blocked you on WhatsApp. First check that the contact displays online status and “last seen”. It is also important to pay attention to the profile photo: if it does not appear or, mainly, it is no longer displayed suddenly. It is also worth trying to add the person to new groups, make voice or video calls and check the behavior of the messages sent by you: if nothing is delivered, it is likely that the person has put you on the blocked list.
Profile photo is not displayed for people who have been blocked on WhatsApp – Photo: Reproduction / Carolina Ribeiro
