Android Magazine 58 - 2015 UK

Five expert tips on how to use WhatsApp Messenger

1 Set your status

Tap the Settings menu and select

Status to let friends and family know

if you are free.

2 Send to all

Set up a Broadcast List in the

settings. This sends all your selected

recipients the same message.

3 WhatsApp on your desktop

Access WhatsApp via Chrome by

visiting web.whatsapp.com, then

scan the QR code and sync devices.

4 Delete conversations

Delete all your messages via Chats

and Calls>Chat history then

selecting Delete all chats.

5 No more read receipts

Banish that treacherous blue double

tick in WhatsApp’s Privacy settings

tips and turn off Read receipts.

If you already

have WhatsApp

Own WhatsApp Messenger already? The

update will be slightly different for you...

Once you’re in the Chats and calls menu,
tap Chat backup. This will bring up the menu for your
Google Drive message backup service. It gives you
all the information you need regarding your backup
settings. Tap Back Up to immediately save your
conversations to Google Drive.

Chat backup

6

Syncing takes a lot of time and battery
power so you might not want to regularly back up
your messages. Tap on the Back up to Google
Drive menu and choose when you want the app to
sync your messages with Google Drive. This can
easily be changed by tapping on the menu again.

Set backup parameters

7

This final step will back up your messages
to Google Drive so they’re safely stored. Tap the
green Back Up button and it will save your
settings to your Google Drive account. This will
use up a lot of data, so we’d recommend being
connected to Wi-Fi.

Connect to Wi-Fi

8

guide

min

If your phone recognises you already

have WhatsApp Messenger, it will ask you if you

want to download the new version. Tap Install to

get the update. It won’t ask for any new

permissions unless you’ve altered the settings

to deny the app access to certain areas.

1 Install the app

The only permission it asks for is on the

above screen. When the app is looking for

backups, it will ask if it can search your Google

Drive account for any previous data saves. It

won’t find anything if this is your first time, but it

will if you’re reinstalling after backing up.

2 Give permission

If you have more than one Google

account attached to your phone, it will ask

which one has the attached Google Drive

account from where you want to restore your

former messages. Tap on the circle next to your

chosen email account to colour it blue, then hit

OK to begin the search.

Choose an account

3

After setting up the sync, head into your

back-up settings. At the bottom of the screen

will be the option to include videos in the

backup. When this isn’t ticked, WhatsApp

videos will not be shared with Google Drive

because of limited storage availability. Tick it to

alter this default setting.

Include videos

4