WhatsApp is probably the most popular messaging platform in the world largely because it’s so simple and straightforward to use.

However, if you want to dig a little deeper into the app, there are several extra features that make things a bit more interesting and fun.

For example, you don’t have to settle for the standard WhatsApp font if you want to spice up your chats with a different look.

Different fonts, who knew?

If you’re using an iPhone, you can highlight a word (or sentence or entire message) in your chat and hold your finger down.

You’ll see a pop-up menu appear and if you tap the BIU symbol, you’ll be presented with a couple of different options.

You can either make the text bold, switch it to italics or switch it to an entirely different style called ‘Monospace’.

Give it a try in a group chat and watch the puzzled reactions from your recipients.

There’s another way to achieve the bold and italic options – you just have to add astrisks either side of your text for the former and an underscore for the latter.

So, typing *WhatsApp text here* becomes WhatsApp text here and _WhatsApp text here_ becomes WhatsApp text here.

If you want to utilise the strikethrough, you just need to put a tilde either side of your text. So, ~WhatsApp text here~ becomes WhatsApp text here.

Save your favourite texts

If you want to save messages in WhatsApp to easily return to them later, you can do it by adding them as favourites.

In a chat, if you hold your finger down on the message you’ll see a pop-up menu appear with the option to add a star.

This sends it through to your Starred Messages archive, which you can find in the Settings menu.

Using this feature makes it easier to keep track of important messages – like directions to a location or an important date to remember.

Pin chats

A similar hack involves pinning your favourite chats to the top of your list of conversations.

If you’ve got a couple of important group chats, then you might want to consider pinning these to the top of the app.

All you have to do to pin a chat is swipe right on a particular conversation.