Clever WhatsApp trick lets you change your font and confuse all your pals

WANT to bewilder your WhatsApp pals? There’s a genius trick that lets you modify how your texts looks.

It’s possible to make your WhatsApp messages bold or italics, add a strikethrough effect – and even change the font.

Texting on WhatsApp can be made more fun by changing the format or font of your messagesCredit: Getty

How to change WhatsApp font

It’s also possible to change your messages into a secret monospace font.

A monospaced font is one where every letter and character occupies exactly the same amount of horizontal space.

First, you’ll need to locate the backtick icon, which looks like a reverse apostrophe. On your phone, just hold down on the apostrophe icon and it’ll show up.

Then, place three of those before and after your message, like this: “`text goes here“`

This image shows what a monospaced text looks likeCredit: The Sun

That will monospace your message, which will definitely confuse your friends.

How to make WhatsApp text bold

Bolding text is a great way to emphasise a word or phrase: bold.

It can also make a message stand out, which can be handy in group chats.

All you need to do is place an asterisk either side of the word or phrase you’re trying to embolden, like so: *text goes here*

That’ll make your message appear bold for you and for everyone else who sees it.

How to make WhatsApp text italics

Similarly, it’s also possible to make WhatsApp message italics, which is great for emphasis: italics.

It works in exactly the same was as the bold trick, but using different symbols.

You need to place an underscore on either side of the word or phrase you’re trying to edit, like this: _text goes here_

How to do a WhatsApp text strikethrough

The strikethrough features draws a line all the way through your text: ~~strikethrough~~.

It’s usually used to signify that something is wrong, or should be ignored.

To get a strikethrough, place a tilde (that’s that squiggly line symbol) either side of your message, like this: ~text goes here~

WhatsApp – a quick history

Here’s what you need to know…

WhatsApp was created in 2009 by computer programmers Brian Acton and Jan Koum – former employees of Yahoo
It’s one of the most popular messaging services in the world
Koum came up with the name WhatsApp because it sounded like “what’s up”
After a number of tweaks the app was released with a messaging component in June 2009, with 250,000 active users
It was originally free but switched to a paid service to avoid growing too fast. Then in 2016, it became free again for all users
Facebook bought WhatsApp Inc in February 2014 for $19.3billion (£14.64bn)
The app is particularly popular because all messages are encrypted during transit, shutting out snoopers
As of January 2018, WhatsApp has over 1.5billion users globally