How to use WhatsApp: easy step-by-step guide for beginners

Outlines how to use WhatsApp with step-by-step instructions to set up, send messages, make phone calls, do group chats and locations. Plus an overview of privacy concerns and the best WhatsApp alternatives to try.

No matter which device you use, the messenger WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps on your smartphone and tablet. Not surprisingly, the application saves the cost of an SMS.

In principle, WhatsApp is similar to the classic text message via SMS, but offers significantly more possibilities. Above all, there are no costs to be incurred by sending the internet. After you download the app and register your mobile number for the service, you will be guided through setting up your profile. 

Here you can determine your name and profile picture. You can change these two settings at any time later. To do this, use the menu button to access the app settings and select the menu item “Profile”. Simply click on the pen icon next to the name or image.

How to change a WhatsApp number easily

Contacts from your address book who also use WhatsApp are automatically added to your WhatsApp contact list. So you can start your first WhatsApp chat without detours. Simply press the button with the balloon and the plus in the upper right corner.

Then you can select the desired contact and start texting immediately. The message is sent by pressing the arrow icon to the right of the text entry box. The WhatsApp guide for text messages is ready. In principle, GB Whatsapp Download is similar to a classic text message via sms.

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How to use WhatsApp: step-by-step to set up

Before you can set up WhatsApp, you need to download and install the application. To do this, open the app store on your smartphone. In the case of Android devices it is the Google Playstore, in the case of an iPhone it is the App Store. If you have downloaded and installed WhatsApp, you follow this procedure.

1. WhatsApp asks you for your phone number. Enter them. Make sure you replace the zero with +(your country code) at the beginning. Tap Done.
2. Now you will receive a confirmation code via SMS. Enter it on WhatsApp. 
3. Now you will be asked if you are allowing WhatsApp to access your contacts and notifications. In order to use Messenger as intended, you should allow these accesses. With this you have set up WhatsApp successfully. 

How to use WhatsApp: Send messages

If you have just installed WhatsApp, your mailbox will be empty at first. No reason to stay that way for a long time, because sending messages via the Messenger service is as easy as sending an SMS.

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Tap the Chat menu item at the bottom of the screen (iPhone) or at the top of the screen (Android).
3. Tap the pen icon at the top of the screen (iPhone) or the green balloon icon at the bottom of the screen (Android).
4. Select the contact you want to send a message to.
   • Because you previously granted WhatsApp the right to access your contacts, the application has imported all your contacts who also have WhatsApp installed.
5. Now a chat history and a keyboard opens. Type the message you want and press the Send arrow to the right of the input field.

How to use WhatsApp: Record voice messages

You’re too lazy to type and want to record and send a voice message via WhatsApp? It’s also very easy.

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the contact you want to send the voice message to.
2. Hold down the microphone icon and dictate the text you want.

1. Release the button and the message will be sent automatically.
   • If you are recording a voice message for the first time, WhatsApp asks you to release the micro. Just follow the on-screen instructions.

How to use WhatsApp to make phone calls

You are abroad and would like to make calls via Wi-Fi at no additional cost? WhatsApp can handle this without any problems.

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Tap chat history or select the contact you want to call.
3. Click on the phone icon at the top of the screen and it’s off.

How to use WhatsApp to send pictures

One of the reasons WhatsApp is so popular is the many photos or videos that can be sent easily and free of charge using Messenger. To send pictures, you follow the following procedure:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the person you want to send a photo to.
2. Click the camera icon to the right of the input field or the plus sign to the left of the input field
   • If you tap on the camera icon, your mobile phone will open and you will take a picture.
     • Now you have the option to edit, delete (click on the X icon) or add a caption.
     • You send the photo by pressing the Send icon to the right of the input field.
   • If you tap on the plus sign,you have the choice between camera as well as photo and video library.
     • If you choose camera,then you just take a photo with your mobile phone again.
     • If you select Photo and Video Library, you can send already taken pictures from your library.
     • To do this, select the desired photo from your albums and press the Send icon.

However, WhatsApp can send much more than sending messages and photos. In our magazine we have prepared further exciting step-by-step instructions on WhatsApp usage for you.

More features: group chat and location

The big advantage of WhatsApp over the veteran SMS is that you can also send videos, voice messages, pictures, contact details and even your current location when GPS is enabled. The latter is particularly practical, with previously unspecified meeting places. The recipient can then see where you are on a map. You can find these multimedia options when you press the paper clip in a chat at the top right.

Send Location on Android

1. Open your WhatsApp contact, to whom you want to share your location.
2. Go down to the paper clip next to the message box.
3. Select Location and choose between Send Current Location or Live Location.
   a.) Now select Send Current Location. Here the receiver sees only your real location.
   b.) Select Send Live Location. Here you can decide how long the receiver should see your movements: 15 minutes, 1 hour or 8 hours.
4. Press the arrow to send and your receiver will see where exactly you are on the way.

Send Location on iOS iPhone or iPad

1. Open your WhatsApp contact, to whom you want to share your location.
2. Go to the bottom left of the message box on the plus.
3. Select Location and choose between Send Current Location and Share Live Location.a.) Now select Send Current Location. Here the receiver sees only your real location.
   b.) Choose Share Live Location Here you can decide how long the receiver should see your movements: 15 minutes, 1 hour or 8 hours.
4. Your location will be submitted immediately.

How to use WhatsApp group chat

For people who regularly share information with a specific group of people, the group chat feature is a good tip. For example, you can reach your entire family or football team by sending only one message. In addition, all participants are constantly up to date, because all group members can also view and respond to the entire chat history.

1. The instructions for WhatsApp group chats: To start such a group chat, the group must first be set up. You can do this on Android using the menu button, then “Settings > New Group”. iPhone users can find this option in the chat overview at the top. 
2. After you have chosen a name and optionally an image for the group, press the Next button in the upper right corner. 
3. In the next window, you can select the participants of the group chat from your contact list, a maximum of 50 participants per group are possible.

How to install WhatsApp on a computer

If you work on a computer and don’t want to pull your phone with every new WhatsApp message, you should set up WhatsApp Web. This way, you can use the Messenger service directly on your computer’s desktop. We’ll explain you how to install WhatsApp Web.

Those who often work on the PC know the problem: With every new message on WhatsApp, the view must be turned away from the screen, the mobile phone must be taken in hand and unlocked. This stops and is quite awkward. It’s more practical with WhatsApp Web. The tool is used to send messages directly to the PC. The window appears completely in the look of the app and the functions are the same.

Prerequisite: To install WhatsApp Web, the app must already be on your phone.

1. Go to the WhatsApp web page on your PC.
2. Select your computer’s operating system and click Download.

• Mac: You need at least OS X 10.9
• Windows: You need at least Windows 8

Windows: 64-bit or 32-bit?

a: Click Start and go to Control panel
b: We’re moving on to system and security.
c. Now select System. For system type, you can see if your processor is 32-bit or 64-bit-based.

3. Loading the exe file takes only a few seconds. Click on the file and a window will open. You will be asked to register your smartphone using a QR code:

3.1 Open WhatsApp on your smartphone.
3.2 Go to Settings.
3.3 Tap WhatsApp Web.
3.4 Hold the smartphone to your PC screen and use the camera to verify the QR code (The block of black and white pattern).

Your phone should now be directly connected to your PC. If the QR code does not work directly, you can have a new one generated in the window. Now you can send photos, videos, documents or even contacts from your computer to friends, just like with the normal app.

Security and privacy

For beginners, the question of who stores their own data is also important. “Nobody can look at the news. No hackers. No regimes. Not even us,” was what WasApp made in 2016. Immediately before, end-to-end encryption had been reintroduced. But is that true? Is WhatApp really secure? Time and again, security vulnerabilities make headlines. But the data leak that a developer has now discovered is taking on a whole new dimension.

While chat histories can’t actually get into the hands of third parties, WhatsApp is not an insurmountable firewall for hackers. Because the application provides enough loopholes to get your so-called metadata. They contain information about who communicates with whom and how often. And this sensitive data is stored unencrypted on WhatsApp’s servers, where it can be viewed by cybercriminals.

Not only can the metadata be passed on to authorities or, in the worst case, even hacked, according to a court order, but your address books will continue to be sent to the company’s servers unencrypted. Every user of Messenger should be aware of this, because no instructions for WhatsApp can show you a way to prevent this transmission.

Best alternatives to WhatsApp

After Facebook’s multibillion-dollar takeover of WhatsApp, the outcry in the internet community was huge – with many users of the Messenger service fearing censorship or covert privacy changes. But what alternatives to WhatsApp are there if such fears come true?

Threema – paid app for encrypted communication

The Messenger Threema is usually mentioned first when asking for an alternative to WhatsApp. The app is chargeable for both Android and iOS and aims to score with secure end-to-end encryption. This should not allow the operators of the servers or third parties to read your messages. As a price for this security, however, the operation of the WhatsApp alternative is a little more complicated. Thus, the highest secret level when exchanging messages is only reached when both chat partners have scanned each other’s QR code.

Skype – Video calls, chats, and voice-over-IP calls in one

The WhatsApp alternative Skype has been offering its well-known video chat feature for some time. You can also make Internet calls via Skype and chat normally with acquaintances. After free registration, you can manage and communicate with friends and acquaintances via a contact list. However, Skype is not necessarily a more secure alternative to WhatsApp. The features are similar to those in the WhatsApp guide, as the settings are no more extensive than the big competitor.

Telegram – encrypted chat with self-destruct function

The free telegram app focuses on security, similar to whatsApp alternative Threema. In addition to normal chats with end-to-end encryption, Telegram also allows you to send special self-destructive messages that are automatically deleted after a timer expires. You can also set the Messenger app to require your interlocutor to type in a specific code to read the message.

BlackBerry Messenger – Dead people live longer

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, which has struggled with red numbers in recent years, also opened its own BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to iOS and Android devices in October 2013 and repeatedly brought it into conversation after Facebook acquired WhatsApp. The BBM also offers end-to-end encryption, and you can also specify who is allowed to send you a message at all and who is not. Due to its origin, however, the BBM is only limited among iOS and Android users.

ChatON – Samsung’s WhatsApp Clone

In appearance, Samsung’s ChatON is suspiciously similar to its big competitor WhatsApp. Despite its origins, Messenger is also available for third-party Android devices and iOS devices. However, a Samsung account is required to use it, which limits the market for this WhatsApp alternative. ChatON also allows group chats, as described in the WhatsApp guide for beginners. In addition, the app reveals interesting statistics such as the interaction rank with a chat partner.