WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to easily connect with friends and family through free messages, calls, photos, videos and more. If you want to start chatting with your contacts on WhatsApp, you first need to find and add them. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to search for and find friends on WhatsApp.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites for Finding Friends on WhatsApp
Before searching for friends, make sure of the following:
- You and your friends have WhatsApp installed: WhatsApp connects users through their phone numbers, so your friends need to have an active WhatsApp account to show up in your contacts list.
- Your friends’ phone numbers are saved in your phone’s contacts: WhatsApp pulls your contacts from your phone’s address book, so any friends you want to find need to already be saved there.
- Enable WhatsApp’s access to your contacts: In your phone’s settings, make sure you have allowed WhatsApp to access your contacts data. This allows it to sync your contacts.
How to Find Friends in Your WhatsApp Contacts
Once the prerequisites above are met, finding friends on WhatsApp is very easy:
On Android
- Open the WhatsApp app on your Android phone.
- Tap on the Chats tab at the bottom.
- Tap on the new chat icon (pencil icon) in the top right.
- You will see a list of all your contacts that also use WhatsApp.
- Scroll to find the friend you want to chat with and tap on their name to open a chat with them.
On iPhone
- Open WhatsApp and tap on the Chats tab at the bottom.
- Tap on the contacts icon in the top right corner.
- You will see a list of all your contacts using WhatsApp.
- Scroll down and tap on a friend’s name to start chatting.
This will open your message thread with that friend so you can start conversing.
How to Search for Friends by Name or Number
If you have a long contacts list, scrolling through your whole list to find friends can be tedious. Fortunately, WhatsApp has a search bar that allows you to quickly search for contacts by name or number when starting a new chat.
On Android
- Open the Chats tab in WhatsApp.
- Tap the new chat icon.
- Tap on the search icon at the top of the screen.
- Type your friend’s name or phone number.
- Select their name from the search results to open a chat.
On iPhone
- Go to the WhatsApp Chats tab and tap the contacts icon.
- Tap the search bar at the top of your contacts list.
- Type in your friend’s name or number.
- Tap on their name in the search results to start chatting.
How to Invite Friends to Join WhatsApp
If you want to chat with a friend over WhatsApp but see they haven’t joined yet, you can invite them to sign up.
On Android
- Open the Chats tab and tap the 3-dot menu.
- Choose Invite friends.
- Select to invite via SMS, email, or by sharing a link.
- Choose contacts to invite and send.
On iPhone
- Go to your WhatsApp Chats and tap the contacts icon.
- Scroll down and tap Invite Friends.
- Choose to invite them through SMS, email, or other options.
- Select contacts to invite and send.
Once your friend receives the invite link, they can click to download WhatsApp and verify their number. After signing up, they will automatically show up in your contacts list for messaging.
Tips for Easily Managing Your WhatsApp Friends
- Create contact groups to easily mass message friends at once instead of individually.
- Pin important chats to the top of your WhatsApp so you can quickly access them.
- Name group chats to avoid confusion when searching through your messages.
- Sync contacts periodically to refresh your contacts list as new friends join WhatsApp.
- Back up your chat history so you have a copy of all conversations if you ever switch phones.
Conclusion
Finding and chatting with friends on WhatsApp takes just a few simple steps. Make sure you and your friends have accounts set up, contacts synced properly, and search tools enabled for easy lookup. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, WhatsApp makes it convenient to have engaging conversations with all your family and friends.
