Welcome to “How does Whatsapp Work?”

WhatsApp Messenger LogoWhatsApp is a texting service between mobile phones as a replacement for the regular SMS text messages. Over 900 million users are active worldwide using the Whatsapp service. Whatsapp uses an internet connection between phones. The service is available for iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Nokia Symbian60-phones.

The major difference between regular SMS text messages and Whatsapp text messages is that Whatsapp is free: You use the internet connection on your phone (wifi or part of you mobile data package depending on subscription or pre paid type).

On this website you will find a lot of information on Whatsapp. If you browse to “What is Whatsapp?” you will find information on what kind of program Whatsapp is. If you choose “How does it work” you will find information on all kinds of options and how Whatsapp works on your phone. If you want to know for sure Whatsapp works on your phone please visit “Does it work on my phone?

Frequently asked questions about Whatsapp

78 thoughts on “Welcome to “How does Whatsapp Work?””

  1. is there anyway i can retrieve the pictures from my previous chat on whatsapp .
    my phone was lost and now I have a new phone and have been able to retrieve the whatsapp contacts but could not retrive the pictures.

    1. we are travelling on a cruise ship to france, spain italy and the UK and I would like to know can I use Whats app on my android phone without a special plan from TelU for texting messages to back home in BC . Do i need a wireless connection to use whats app and what charges would i face to use this service.
      Thanks PC

      1. Hey, Pat, you can use WhatsApp with a wireless connection. You may not incur any charges. However, please ensure that your wireless connection is free or with an unlimited plan. Hope this helps.

  2. If i use whats app abroad and i use it to text or phone i understand this is free if i am using the wifi. However if the person i am texting opens the text and is not in a wifi area does this use their mobile data or will they not be able to see the text until they are in a wireless area. In other words is there any chance of me being charged for sending or receiving a text message or tel call using whats app??

    Thanks

    1. If they have a internetconnection (wifi/3G/4G) they can read the message, otherwise they wil get it when they have a connection

      1. So, if I understand correctly, the person sending or receiving can only see the message if they are on wifi. What about phone calls? are they always free like skype or is there a charge if the person call happens to be in a nonwifi environment.
        Thanks

  3. Will text messages sent from a different text messaging application be retrievable with Whatsapp? i.e. Can I receive messages from contacts that do not use Whatsapp?

  4. If you’re travelling international and don’t have international data plan does it hold your message until you have internet access?

  5. Hi, may I know how WhatsApp works
    Or
    Making of whatsapp?
    Otherwise
    Generally how does social medias are working?

  6. WhatsApp is great simply because its volume of users. Everyone and his grandma use WhatsApp today. So, you need not to worry about the other person have it or not. Just like Facebook, it is now a world wide phenomena.

  7. Question: I tried to download Whatsapp on my android…Whay am I asked to enter a credit card or paypal account?

  8. Hello Admin. I plan to travel to Morocco and Spain for a month. I have an iPhone 6+ that is now unlocked. I plan to insert a new SIM card once there from some company like Vodafone. This will thus replace my current AT&T SIM card. It will also thus get me a new cell phone number. So if I want to use WhatsApp while traveling to make phone calls, will I need to load up the new number? You had an earlier post on “Changing phone Numbers”. Do I follow these steps? And then when I return to the US, after I reinstall my regular AT&T SIM card, do it do the same process? Thanks for your help on this.

    1. You can keep on using the original number as the phone will have it stored on Whatsapp unless you update Whatsapp while you are there. You will however use the new simcard’s data plan to transmit and receive messages unless you use WiFi in which case it will be using the internet off the WiFi connection

  9. hello in my phone “tct alcatel onectouch 985n” whatsapp is not installing can u plzz help me

  10. hello in my phone “tct alcatel one touch 985n” whatsapp is not installing can u plzz help me…

  11. My friend in Nicaragua can record voice messages up to nearly 30 seconds. I have problems going beyond 12 or so. He doesn’t have an iPhone. I do. Does that make any difference? Is there anything I can do to lengthen the recording time for my messages? Thanks

  12. This is a very good article helping to download whatsapp for samsung mobiles. I have easily downloaded latest whatsapp version for my samsung galaxy mobile. Thanks. Good work.keep it up buddy

  13. Exceptional web page. An abundance of handy information the following.. Download gbwhatsapp Now i am transmitting that to many friends ans furthermore expressing with yummy. And definitely, thanks for your sweating!

  14. Why would my friend overseas need me to send him a Sims card so he can get a phone number ? I don’t understand how this works. Question, does he really need me to do this so we can talk on whatsapp,?

  15. Can you use whatapps without a phone number associated with it? Like just through wifi. My husband will be out of the country and I was going to have his phone turned off, but he will use it for wifi.

  16. How do I delete the messages that show up when someone is added to a chat?
    ⁠⁠⁠⁠+1 (xxx) xxx-xxx added +1 (xxx) xxx-xxxx
    ⁠⁠⁠⁠+1 (###) ###-#### added +1 (###) ###-####
    ⁠⁠⁠

  17. Could you explain to me why after placing a call to someone through “what’s app” I got a charge from AT&The (my telephone carrier) for over $34 ? Supposedly your calls are “free”. AT&THE can’t explain it to me, they don’t know. Thanks.

  18. I cleared my data yesterday so I entered my number to be verified but no respond I tried requesting a call but they are not calling me pliz help me what can I do

  19. my photos have gone from my fone since getting whatsApp, (there one day not the next day) is there any way i can retrieve them ??? Dave

  20. If I make a call from a wi-fi area (free for me) to someone who is not in a wi-fi area, will they (the recipient) use up their phone data? Basically, what I want to know is if the whatsapp call both have to be in a wi-fi area…

  21. I turned on whattsup and I see a new contact without me inviting them or adding yet. Is it automatic, or they must have added me?

  22. If there is a star next to the time that I received a message what does that signify? Never seen it before…

  23. Confusing due to the breadth of sublect matter discussed. Thanks to everyone for your questions & answers. Good reminder about using up data when texting for “free”. I was in Italy and had to keep bumping or renewing my plan to get more data. Final bill for a month was a lot.

  24. If I have duel contract with my phone, how private is wats app. Can the other phone user track my conversation.

  25. Why in our group chat when I post something only one grey tick appears? Before there were 2. I am wondering if my messages are getting through as there are approx 100 people on our community wattsapp

  26. Hi is there a need of a WiFi connection whenever you wanted to access in WhatsApp? I have tried to access with it through the use of data connection but it states that” your date and time is in accurate”I did adjust the date and time on my phone but it states again and again

  27. My son is able to download the app and has WiFi access. He has a German number and is trying to figure out how to call and text to people in US. Is this possible?

  28. My husband received a sexually explicit message on WhatsApp. Can he receive a random message from someone that is not on his contact list? He says he does not know her. Please, I need to know. Thank you.

  29. Will others in my group be able to tract my location or view pictures or data on my phone without my permission?

  30. Do I understand it right: I have WhatsApp bound to my US phone number but I can travel say to Europe and whenever I have WiFi connection can use WhatsApp? I don’t need to do anything about phone locally?

  31. Does sending a photo or a text message to a group chat ( of say,10persons) use the same amount of data as sending to only one person in whatsapp?

  32. If it says a person was last seen does that mean they were last seen on WhatsApp or is they the last time they looked and saw your message you sent to them.

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