Who does not know about WhatsApp? The application has been on the top of free applications in the Google Play Store and Apple Apps store in the past decade. It is all because of the value that WhatsApp brings to its customers.
Mainly used for messaging, this is one of the most popular platforms for messaging around the world. Apart from messaging, it brings value for different users by providing a lot of new features. Being the most popular messaging platform globally, WhatsApp has a lot to offer, and here we will discuss it all.
A word about the history of WhatsApp:
This application’s birth took place when two of the former employees of Yahoo made the application in 2009. In the early times, there were not a lot of features available on this application. However, as time passed and users increased, the WhatsApp team kept adding features and kept on making this application more usable for the users.
One interesting thing about WhatsApp’s name is that it was intentionally made to sound like “what’s up” which is a common term in the world to call someone. Continuously gaining popularity, WhatsApp was bought by Facebook in the year 2014. However, since that time, it has been operating as a separate platform.
What are the features that make WhatsApp so unique and amazing?
One of the major reasons for this platform’s success is the features that are provided over here. Some features are unique, and some are not unique, but almost each of the features brings a lot of value. Here we will elaborate on some of the features that bring the most value for the users.
Disappearing messages
It has been a long-anticipated feature from the WhatsApp users. Although this is a feature already provided by some other applications, WhatsApp has recently announced it. It is one of the best things for the privacy freaks because when this is turned on, the sent messages are automatically deleted after seven days.
Another person can save those messages by capturing their screen while the message is still there.
Text formatting to make your messages look even catchier.
Whether you are looking to grab the readers’ attention or want to speak out of the message, using text formatting is the best way, and it is very easy to do on WhatsApp. You can do things like bold text or italic text.
All you need to do is add some specific characters in your text, and it will be formatted. It is a very useful feature for those looking to make special announcements in groups or individual messages.
Encryption – Makes it Super Secure
When it comes to sending and receiving information over the internet, what most people demand is security. Well, WhatsApp has been great in this case because it [provides end-to-end encryption.
The security level here can be imagined because the owners of WhatsApp themselves cannot decrypt the message that you are sending, making it one of the most secure platforms to send information.
Save or do not Save Images and Videos is Your Choice.
Having a photo gallery full of useless stuff is what everyone hates. With WhatsApp, you cannot control people sending you images and videos because different people and groups share different information.
One thing that you have in your hand is allowing those videos to be saved or not. Well, this is one of the best features of WhatsApp, where you can turn off the automatic saving of videos to your gallery. Here you can view and share the images or videos, and they will not be saved automatically. However, you can still manually save them if you want to.
Custom Notifications and Call Sounds
It is a feature that was present in the phone’s native applications, but this was not available on any online platforms. WhatsApp was the one that came up with this as you can customize a lot of things for specific contacts. The following are the things that you can customize for specific contacts.
- Notification sound.
- Notification light color(only if your phone supports it)
- Call sound
- Chat theme
- Chat wallpaper
For those who want to know who is texting them without checking the phone, this serves as a great feature.
PC/MAC Support
WhatsApp supports being used on different devices at a single time. Although there is no option for a permanent login, you can still check the “remember me” or “keep me signed in” option on the sign-in page. By this, you can use WhatsApp on any of your computers and laptops.
Just Visit: https://web.whatsapp.com from your PC or Mac
No matter what operating system they are running on, if there is a browser and your phone is connected to the internet, you can use WhatsApp on PC.
It can be a great thing. You can manage your team on your PC by using WhatsApp. You will not be diverted by your phone as you will be using WhatsApp on your PC. So, this is one of the key features of WhatsApp which many people use regularly
Different Types of Location Sharing Options
Location sharing is a feature provided by WhatsApp that works in different manners. One is the simple location sharing, while the other is the live location. Simple location sharing is a great option when you are looking to get something delivered to your place or give someone the reference of your location. However, the live location is more like a safety feature that lets the person with your location know where you currently are
Exporting Conversation.
Sometimes there is a need to save the conversations. Although backup is a great option, it stays within the application, and it also works on the same platform. So, exporting the chat is a great option. Whether you want to do this via email or save the chats on a text file document, it is your choice.
Using this feature, you can keep the chats safe and ready to be used whenever you want, even if you do not have your phone or WhatsApp account.
No Ads
Despite having billions of users, this is a great thing about WhatsApp that there are no ads. If we look at some other social platforms used, all of them have sponsored ads that we have nothing to do with.
However, WhatsApp still makes itself a great platform for the users by keeping it completely personal. Not having any annoying ads while using the application makes the experience top-notch for the users.
Absolutely FREE for Lifetime
An application that lets you share a lot of information helps your business grow and can also help you send payments and receive them; it is very cheap. Well, the process starts from downloading the completely free application. Other than this, using it is also very cheap as you can use it with minimal internet data.
If you have Wi-Fi connectivity at your place, then using WhatsApp will be almost free. Another great thing here is that even if you are using it internationally, you still do not have to worry about charges or additional internet usage. It is standard for the whole world.
Why is WhatsApp so Popular Among all the Applications with Similar Features?
When one comes across an application with so many alternatives, one may think about why it is so popular, and the other platforms are not that popular even if the features and experience are almost saved over all the platforms, which sets WhatsApp apart.
Here we will discuss some factors that separate WhatsApp from all other competitors in the market and make it one of the most used applications all over the world.
Works on Most of the Phones.
Believe it or not but WhatsApp is the application that works on most phones. In this world of the internet and technology, newer phones are being made every day, and most of them have some difference in their software.
Apart from the iOS and Android phones, there are many other phones, especially those like the old ones having buttons on them. The great thing about WhatsApp is that it supports almost all of the phones that have internet connectivity. It makes everyone able to use WhatsApp for their different requirements.
No Charges to Contact Someone Internationally.
One of the most surprising features about WhatsApp and what makes it so widely accepted is that it requires no additional charges upon contacting someone in some other part of the world, whether you are texting them, calling, or sending some files.
It will require no additional thing from you. Although this makes life easier for personal users, it significantly benefits the businesses operating worldwide by free communication options.
Group Messages is a Great Feature in Whatsapp
Sending group messages is a no new feature. One unique feature that you get from WhatsApp is that you can send multiple messages individually to many people with a few clicks. The best part is that everyone who receives that message will have no idea about the others who got this message.
It is the Broadcast message feature from WhatsApp that lets you send one message to many people. All you need to do is select the desired contacts, and you will only need to send one message, and that single message will be individually delivered to everyone. It is an amazing feature for those who are operating their businesses over WhatsApp.
Pros and Cons of WhatsApp.
Just like all other things, WhatsApp also has its pros and cons. While the pros make it a very functional application for most users, the cons at the same time limit the performance one can expect from WhatsApp. Here we will discuss some of the pros and cons of WhatsApp in detail.
Pros of Whatsapp
The following are the pros of WhatsApp.
A great option for video and voice calling.
Only by using your basic internet connection can you make voice and video calls to any of your contacts with WhatsApp. Being a common feature that sets WhatsApp apart from other competitors is that it brings in extremely good quality. There are no additional charges; this makes it a feature feasible for everyone.
Automatic contacts synchronization
When you download the application, all you will need to do is to provide permission, and the application will have all your contacts synchronized. It is not like other social platforms where you need to send requests.
Document sharing is a great feature.
When you have WhatsApp, you can send most types of documents to the desired contacts. It reduces the fuss of managing different tools and platforms for contacting one single person.
Cons of Whatsapp
Some of the cons of WhatsApp are discussed below.
Calls do not work internationally.
Sad to know, but some countries in the world do not allow WhatsApp to operate their call feature. It means that you cannot call people living in those countries, and you have to use other platforms for this.
Cannot contact anyone without having their contact number.
If you are looking to contact someone, the only way is to send a message via their number. There is no other way. Either you can extract the number from some group, or someone can send it to you; only then can you contact them as there is no name or username search option.
The file size limit makes this feature limited.
Although you can send many different types of files over WhatsApp, one thing that still limits this feature is the file size. For the videos, you are limited to 16MB, whereas no file over 100MB can be sent for the other file types.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of platforms that provide international messaging and all the other features that WhatsApp provides. However, this is still one of the most used applications. It is all because of the amazing features that WhatsApp brings for its users. Here we discussed WhatsApp’s features and the things that make it stand out in this era of technological competition.
