Here’s Why I Use WhatsApp Over Other Messaging Apps

I’ve been waxing poetic about WhatsApp since I switched a few years ago. I mean, there’s a reason why it’s the most popular messaging app in the world. Here’s why I use WhatsApp instead of other messaging apps.

1 Everyone I Talk to Is on It

Even if I thought WhatsApp wasn’t the best messaging app in the world (which I clearly do), I wouldn’t use it if my friends and family didn’t. The thing is, they all do. My friends, family, acquaintances, and just about everyone else I encounter use WhatsApp.

The Meta-owned app is so popular that it’s literally changing the very language we use to ask someone for their digits. Instead of asking someone for their number, people now ask for their WhatsApp. But it isn’t just my family and friends that use it.

WhatsApp boasts over 2 billion active monthly users. If you’re wondering why you, as an American or Canadian, have never heard of WhatsApp, it’s because despite being American-owned, it’s most popular in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia — so basically everywhere that isn’t north of Mexico.

2 The App Is Aesthetically Pleasing

If I’m going to be using an app for hours every week, I want it to be easy on the eyes. WhatsApp has a bubbly yet functional look that draws me in unlike other messaging apps.

My favorite feature is WhatsApp’s dark mode. Staring at a screen for hours a day is hard enough. Being able to switch on dark mode gives my eyes the much-needed relief they need.

WhatsApp also gives users the ability to customize chats via its Wallpaper feature. The app gives you plenty of backgrounds to choose from that enable you to personalize the visuals of each conversation.

3 WhatsApp Stickers

I also enjoy using WhatsApp Stickers. Stickers are more customizable and expressive than mere emojis. They can be created from scratch or created with the help of AI with WhatsApp.

If you’re a WhatsApp user, you would probably agree that a sticker is worth a thousand words. A sticker is a stationary or GIF-like image that you can easily insert into conversations.

You can create stickers with AI, but most of us download sticker packs or even create our own stickers.

Stickers are a great way to express your personality or inject a bit of humor into the conversation. Stickers have become so popular that they’re basically a second language. My friends and I can have entire conversations using nothing more than stickers.

I’m not a hoarder. Some people have text conversations dating back for years — I don’t. I keep my digital life rather tidy, and the disappearing messages feature on WhatsApp helps me do it.

WhatsApp allows users to make conversations disappear every 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days. Unless saved, messages will be permanently deleted after the set period of time.

You can also send photos and videos in such a way that they can only be viewed once, just like Snapchat. Setting the one-time-view option for images and video is a considerate way to not fill up your buddy’s entire storage with selfies of yourself.

Privacy is also an additional boon for disappearing messages. Disappearing media are deleted forever from your phone and the recipient’s device. Even if I’m having a perfectly innocuous conversation, there’s something about a multi-year conversation being saved that keeps me up at night. Should those messages fall into the wrong hands, they can always be taken out of context and used against you. After the message has been communicated, there is no reason for it to hang around in the ether.

5 The Edit Messages Feature

I write words for a living so as you can imagine proper grammar and spelling mistakes are things I like to avoid, regardless of the context. So it used to pain me like no other when I’d send a message containing a misspelled word or poor grammar. I used to correct myself in the following message with an asterisk followed by the correction.

With the edit feature on WhatsApp, I no longer have to do that. After sending a message, users have 15 minutes to edit the message.

6 WhatsApp Business Features

Many companies have taken to using the paid version, WhatsApp Business, to converse with customers. It’s not just businesses that are happy to use these added features, but customers also reap the benefits.

I enjoy not having to open a company’s app, log onto their website, or get put on hold for hours in order to talk with them. WhatsApp Business optimizes communication with its automated messaging options. Businesses can automate greeting, away messages, and create conversation shortcuts that save time for both the business and customer.

Customers can also glean information about the company, as business accounts function as virtual storefronts that provide customers with information about store hours, pricing, important links, and other pertinent information.

And although it’s only available in Brazil, India, and Singapore, I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of WhatsApp Payments. Instead of logging onto a company website or one of the million payment apps out there, users in these countries can simply pay through WhatsApp.

7 WhatsApp Channels

WhatsApp is so much more than just a messaging app. In June 2023, WhatsApp introduced WhatsApp Channels. Companies and famous individuals can create channels to keep users in the loop by posting photos, videos, and links.

I basically use Channels as a news aggregator as it allows me to choose what accounts I want to follow and gives me access to the latest news from within the app itself. Popular news outlets like NYT, BBC, and Axios all have accounts, but so do celebrities like Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo. You can also follow your favorite sports teams.

What I love most is that when I open the Channels tab, each article is summarized, so to get the juiciest parts of the article, I don’t even have to open the link.

When it comes to messaging apps, WhatsApp is king. If you disagree, that’s cool, I’d love to talk about it. Just be sure to shoot me a message on WhatsApp. Its many features and constant innovation are the reason why it’s used by 2 billion users worldwide.