How can you find someone on whatsapp
How to Find Someone on WhatsApp on iPhone or Android
- You can easily find someone on WhatsApp if you know their phone number.
- Contacts stored on your phone that use WhatsApp will automatically show up in your WhatsApp contacts list.
- This story is a part of Business Insider's Guide to WhatsApp.
If you want to chat with someone you know on WhatsApp, doing so is relatively simple, as long as you have their phone number.
There's only one way of going about locating someone on WhatsApp, and that's via the Chat section. It should be noted that if you want to find someone not already in your contacts list on WhatsApp, you'll need to add them before that's possible.
Here's how to find someone on WhatsApp in the Chat section.
Check out the products mentioned in this article:
iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)
Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $899.99 at Best Buy)
How to find someone on WhatsApp using your iPhone
1. Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
2. Tap the "Chats" icon in the bottom menu bar, which looks like two overlapped speech bubbles.
Tap the "Chats" icon. Jennifer Still/Business Insider3. In the upper-right hand corner of the Chats section, tap the "Compose" button to launch a new chat, which will automatically bring up your list of contacts.
4. Tap the Search bar at the top of the screen and begin typing the name of the person you want to find, then tap on the contact's name once you find them.
Type the person's name into the search bar. Jennifer Still/Business Insider5. A new chat will launch with the contact and will remain in your active chat list until you delete the conversation.
How to find someone on WhatsApp using your Android
1. Open WhatsApp on your Android device.
2. Tap the "Chats" button located near the top of the screen.
3. Locate the green speech bubble icon in the bottom-right hand corner of the Chats screen, and tap it to begin a new conversation.
4. When your list of contacts appears, tap the Search bar at the top and type in the name of the contact you wish to locate.
5. When they appear in the list, tap on the contact to start a new conversation with them.
How to share your location on WhatsApp using an iPhone or Android device
How to change the WhatsApp background in your chats to a wallpaper, color, or custom photo
How to hide your online status on WhatsApp to protect your privacy
How to delete a WhatsApp contact on your mobile device
How to delete a WhatsApp group using your iPhone or Android device
Jennifer Still
Jennifer is a writer and editor from Brooklyn, New York, who spends her time traveling, drinking iced coffee, and watching way too much TV. She has bylines in Vanity Fair, Glamour, Decider, Mic, and many more. You can find her on Twitter at @jenniferlstill.
Read moreRead less
Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.
How to find someone on WhatsApp to start a new chat
If you want to talk to a new contact on WhatsApp, you need their phone number. There’s no other way around it. WhatsApp doesn’t have a central online directory of usernames as Skype does. You can’t search for a stranger in your WhatsApp app. You need to have their phone number to start a conversation (and even then, they may not even be WhatsApp users.)
So, assuming you have their phone number, how do you start a new conversation with them? Or how can you persuade someone to give you their number and become a new WhatsApp user?
Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide
QUICK ANSWER
To find someone on WhatsApp, start a new conversation. This will bring up a list of all the people in your device's phone book who also have WhatsApp accounts (assuming you already have their number listed in your device's phone book). Or if they give you their mobile number, add it to your device's phone book, refresh WhatsApp, and it will instantly show up if they have a WhatsApp account too.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
- How to find someone on WhatsApp (Android and iPhone)
- How to find someone on WhatsApp without adding/saving a number
- What if the contact doesn't have WhatsApp yet?
How to find someone on WhatsApp (Android and iPhone)
The following tips apply equally to both Android and iPhone. The only difference, of course, is that the iOS interface is a slightly different design. But it’s all still in the same place.
If this is a new contact, make sure their phone number is first added to your Google Contacts app (or your iOS Contacts app), along with the proper international and local dialing code. If you don’t know the dialing code for a particular country, you can find it here. Now restart your WhatsApp app and begin a new conversation in Chats. This will bring up all your contacts who have registered their phone number to a WhatsApp account.
If you have hundreds of contacts, you can quickly narrow the search by looking for them with the search function.
You can also add a contact manually to WhatsApp without adding them first to your device contacts app. Just start a new conversation, and in your WhatsApp contact list, you’ll see an option called New contact.
Mark O'Neill / Android Authority
Tapping on it, you can now add the person’s contact details. But again, you need their phone number.
Once you’ve found the contact you want in your list, tap on them, and begin your conversation.
How to find someone on WhatsApp without adding/saving a number
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
What if you want to have a one-off discussion with someone on WhatsApp? Maybe with a business associate or someone you’re not likely to talk to a second time? You may decide in that instance that you don’t want to go to all the bother of adding them to your contact book. In that case, we have previously covered sending someone a WhatsApp message without saving the number first.
What if the contact doesn’t have WhatsApp yet?
WhatsApp has an “invite a friend” function to give someone a link to install WhatsApp. When their account is made, they need to tell you the account has been set up — WhatsApp doesn’t notify you. When you invite them to WhatsApp, all the person receives is a direct download link to the app.
In your WhatsApp contact list, at the top, select Invite a friend.
A prewritten message will appear with a copy button and several messaging possibilities. Just choose one and send it off.
FAQs
No, not unless they know your phone number. So keep it secret from those you don’t know. If you need a WhatsApp for your business, get a different number.
Likely because they are also in your device’s contacts app. Remove the person from there (or, at the very least, their phone number), and they should then disappear from WhatsApp.
How to find a person in WhatsApp by number, search in WhatsApp by name
Content
- What the application will do for you
- How to find a subscriber by his phone number
- Is it possible to find people in WhatsApp by name, date of birth or address?
WhatsApp is a comfortable tool for communicating with friends and relatives. Often, application users have to face the question of how to find a person on WhatsApp. The messenger system is designed to protect customer data. On the one hand, this pleases, information about you is confidential, on the other hand, it makes it problematic to find those with whom you would like to be in touch. nine0003
The easiest way to find people you know on WhatsApp is to search by cell phone number.
What the application will do for you
WhatsApp immediately after installation starts scanning the phone book. All numbers that you previously entered into your device will be automatically transferred to the application.
If the user wants to contact one of his contacts, all that remains is to find his number and click on the call or send a message.
But what if the person you want is not on the list? nine0003
How to find a subscriber by his phone number
To find a person by number, you need to add the numbers of his contacts to the address book of your mobile device. To do this:
1. Open the "Phone" tab.
2. Click on the button that adds "+" contacts.
3. Specify the Name, Surname, or nickname of a friend and enter the numbers of his phone.
4. Click on "Save".
5. Open the messenger.
6. Click on the button to open the chat. nine0003
7. In the list of your contacts, the subscriber will appear only if he, like you, has an account in Vatsap.
Perhaps, having done all the necessary actions, you will eventually find that the person you are looking for is not in the messenger. This is no reason to give up on the idea of contacting him via WhatsApp.
All you have to do is send people who don't have the app installed an invitation to install it. To carry out this action, find the "Invite Friends" button in Vatsap, click on it and enter who to send the invitation to. nine0003
Next, the system will send an SMS to the required user containing a link to the messenger. If the subscriber you are interested in wants to communicate, he will follow the link provided and install it on his mobile application. You can start chatting right after that.
In order for people from your contact list who have recently installed WhatsApp to appear in the messenger, you need to update it from time to time.
To do this, open the application, find the "Update" option in the phone menu and click on it. All new users of Vatsap will immediately join the list available for communication. nine0003
If you have a lot of friends in your WhatsApp, you can easily find the right ones by clicking on the magnifying glass and entering the name, surname or nickname of the person you need in the box.
Is it possible to find people on WhatsApp by name, date of birth or address?
Often you have to face the problem of finding people whose phone numbers are unknown. Is it possible to find a person on WhatsApp using other data?
Alas, such a function is not provided in the messenger. We offer several options for resolving the issue:
- find the required user in social networks by entering his nickname, first name or last name in the search bar;
- use the Google or Yandex search engine, entering everything you know about the person you are looking for into the search bar;
- search through the e-mail box, you may have had some correspondence with the user.
All options should be taken for the sole purpose of getting the phone number. Very often people leave their contacts on social networks. nine0003
Let's sum it up: 2 conditions are needed to communicate in WhatsApp:
- A person has installed a messenger on his device.
- The user's phone number is in your contact list.
If you want to communicate with someone, make sure you meet these conditions.
How to find a person by phone number in WhatsApp: instructions
How to find a person by phone number in WhatsApp or find a user by first and last name? We know the available ways - read our review to learn how to find the right interlocutors in the blink of an eye! Our instructions are simple and accessible to everyone, even a novice user. nine0003
By mobile number
Before thinking about how to find a person on WhatsApp, be sure to install the messenger! Without a downloaded program and passed authorization, there is nothing to hope for a successful result.
- Go to the Google Play Store or Ep Store;
- Enter the name of the WhatsApp messenger in the corresponding search bar;
- Click on the download icon - it's free;
- After installation, open the application; nine0006
- Enter mobile phone and wait for confirmation code;
- Enter a six-digit combination in the required field;
- Give the system the necessary permissions and start chatting!
So, to add a contact on WhatsApp, you must first find it.
You can find a person by phone number in WhatsApp - but only if he is added to the phone book or is present in the list of conversations.
Searching is easy - just do the following:
- Open the messenger;
- Go to the "Chats" section;
- Find the search bar on the top bar;
- Start entering the phone number - you can write the combination in full or in part;
- On the screen below, you'll see suggested users whose identities match the phone number request.
Done! You can find a person in WhatsApp by phone number, just remember to first add it to the phone book or write a message in the messenger. nine0003
There is another way to find the right interlocutor - we will talk about it below.
By first and last name
Need to find friends on WhatsApp to write a message, but the list of conversations is too large and you don't remember the phone number? Use the search by name and surname - if you clearly remember how you recorded the contact in the phone book.
- Log in to WhatsApp messenger;
- In the chat section, look for the search string;
- Enter the first name, last name - in full or in part;
- Below you will see those people whose details match your request.
You can find a person in Watsap only on one condition - he has already been entered in the phone book earlier. There are no other options!
Are there other ways to find the right user? Let's talk more about this below, but first, let's watch the video!
What if the person is not on the list? Many are wondering how to find a contact in WhatsApp if you have not entered it into the memory of your smartphone. The functionality of the WhatsApp program does not include the ability to search for third-party subscribers - you will not be able to access the full user database, this is a privacy requirement. But you can search for people in other ways - it's not forbidden! nine0003
What alternatives are available?
- Open any social network - VKontakte, Facebook or another;
- Enter the user's full name in the search bar;
- Use other information - date of birth, city of residence and age;
- Run the algorithm! Often people write a phone number on a personal page;
- Add mobile phone to smartphone book and save;
- Log in to the messenger to search for the user using the method described above. nine0006
If you didn't find anything in the social network, there is another way:
- Use any convenient search engine - it's better to choose Google or Yandex;
- Enter all known data in the search bar - name, city of residence, date of birth or email;
- Scroll through the issue and find the right subscriber!
Have you done all the manipulations and managed to get a phone number, but you don't see a person in WhatsApp? Perhaps he did not install the WhatsApp messenger on his smartphone - try contacting through another application or social network.