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How do you search for 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 Insider

3. 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 Insider

5. 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.

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How To Find Someone On Whatsapp 2022

Looking for people to chat with on WhatsApp? You can find people using your mobile device, via web browser or desktop app, by phone number, and without a phone number. Here’s a full tutorial on how to find someone on WhatsApp!

WhatsApp is one of the most common means of communication today, not only in the U.S., but also around the world. Right now, there are billions of monthly WhatsApp users from over 180 countries – all fully taking advantage of the app’s communication features.

However, it’s not all sunshine and roses. One of the issues that people face when using the app is when searching for contacts. As a messaging service first and foremost, WhatsApp values privacy over connectivity. 

This means that you cannot directly search for people on the platform to cold message them like on Facebook and Twitter. This can be quite frustrating, especially if you’re in a hurry to talk to someone.

In this article, I’ll discuss the variety of ways on how to find someone on WhatsApp.

Contents

  • 1 4 Ways To Find Someone On Whatsapp
    • 1.1 On Mobile Device
    • 1.2 On Web Browser or Desktop App
    • 1.3 By Phone Number
    • 1.4 Without Phone Number
  • 2 FAQs
    • 2.1 How To Find Someone On WhatsApp With Number?
    • 2.2 How Do People Find Me On WhatsApp?
  • 3 How To Find Someone On WhatsApp

4 Ways To Find Someone On Whatsapp

WhatsApp does not have a search feature that connects you directly to other people’s accounts. You have to know someone’s contact number before you can send them a message. 

To make it more complicated, even when you already have someone’s contact number saved on your phone, you still need to find them on the app itself.

Here are the four methods you can use to find your contacts on WhatsApp.

On Mobile Device

This method is for when you’re on your mobile, like your phone or tablet, and you need to search for people who are already on your device’s contact list. If this is the case for you, then you only have to import these contacts to your WhatsApp so that you can send them a message there.

Take note that the process is slightly different for Android and iOS devices.

Android

If you have an Android device, this is how to find someone on WhatsApp.

1. Download and install WhatsApp from the Google Play Store.

2. Open WhatsApp to make sure it was installed correctly.

3. If this is your first time using WhatsApp, you’ll have to click “Agree and Continue” to accept the app’s terms and services.

4. Next, enter your mobile number to register for an account. Click Next when you’re done.

5. The app should ask for your permission to access your contacts, among other things. Click Allow to continue.

6. You’ll have to type in a name for your WhatsApp profile. You can also upload a photo, but this is optional. When you’re done, click Next.

7. Once you have everything set up, you can now find people from your contacts. Make sure you are in the “Chats” tab. You can find this tab on either the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your device, but it’s always in the same bar as “Status” and “Calls.”

8. Tap the “Start a Chat” icon, which is located at the bottom right corner of your app interface. This will allow you to access the list of your phone contacts who are on WhatsApp.

9. Type the contact number or name of the person you wish to message using WhatsApp. If they have a WhatsApp account, you can immediately send them a message. If not, you’ll be given the option to “Invite” them to the app.

iOS

As mentioned, the process for iOS devices is only slightly different than iOS. Here are the steps for how to find someone on WhatsApp via iOS devices.

1. Download and install WhatsApp from the App Store.

2. Open the downloaded app. The next steps should be the same as the Android version. Simply follow steps 2-6 as indicated above.

3. To start finding people you know, click the Chats tab at the bottom bar.

4. There are two ways to begin chatting with your phone contacts on WhatsApp’s iOS version. One, you can choose to tap the icon at the top right. Or, you can click the “Start Messaging” button.

5. Both methods will take you to a list of phone contacts you have who are using WhatsApp.

6. You can use the Search tab to find specific people, or you can also just tap on a name and number to begin chatting.

Again, you can only send messages to your phone contacts who also have WhatsApp installed on their phone. If they’re not registered with WhatsApp, you’ll have to send them an invite first. Don’t worry, it’s as easy as clicking the “Invite” button to the right of their name.

On Web Browser or Desktop App

WhatsApp also has a web browser version and a desktop application, which you can use if you prefer. It has pretty much the same features as the mobile versions of WhatsApp, though you can’t really tell if someone’s online via these desktop versions.

1. Open any browser, like Google Chrome, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.

2. If you wish to use the browser version of WhatsApp, type https://web.whatsapp. com in the search bar. If you wish to download the desktop app, type https://www.whatsapp.com/download instead.

3. For the desktop app, simply install the file that you downloaded and launch it when it’s done installing.

From here onwards, the steps are completely the same for both the Web version and the desktop application.

4. You will see a QR code on the screen. You need to scan this code with your phone before you can log in.

5. On iPhone, simply open WhatsApp then navigate to Settings.

6. Under Starred Messages, you can see WhatsApp Web/Desktop. Tap on this.

7. On Android, click on the hamburger icon at the top right of the screen.

8. It will open up a new dropdown menu. Click WhatsApp Web.

9. You’ll be brought to a screen showing a QR scanner. Scan the QR code on your desktop’s web browser and click OK.

10. If successful, you will be logged into WhatsApp on your computer browser automatically.

11. Once successfully logged in, tap on the New Chat icon at the right-hand side of the screen.

12. You will see a list of contacts similar to what you have on your phone. From here, you can either scroll down to look for your contact or click on the search bar and type the name or contact number of the person you’re looking for.

The only difference between WhatsApp’s desktop client and the Web version is that you can now access WhatsApp straight from your desktop, without needing to enter the URL in your browser anymore.

However, keep in mind that this will only work if the person that you’re looking for already has a WhatsApp account. You can’t invite people from the desktop versions of WhatsApp, so if they don’t have an existing account, they simply won’t be displayed in your list of contacts.

By Phone Number

You can also search for people on WhatsApp if they aren’t in your contact list, as long as you have their phone number. There are two ways that you can do this.

Saving The Number To Your Phone’s Contacts First

If the phone number of the person that you want to send a message to is not saved in your contacts list, the solution is very simple: just save their number to your phone contacts first.

Here’s how to do it. These steps were done on an iPhone, but you can rest assured that there’s very little difference between iOS and Android when doing this method.

1. Open WhatsApp on your phone and make sure you’re on the “Chats” tab. This tab can be located on either the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your device, but it’s always in the same area as “Status” and “Calls.”

2. Compose a new message by tapping on the compose button on the bottom right corner of the screen if you’re on Android, and on the top right corner if you’re on iOS.

3. Instead of scrolling down or using the search tab, tap the “New Contact” button instead.

4. You will then be taken to a new screen where you can fill in the details of your new contact. You’ll need to input at least a first name, while a last name is optional. Obviously, you also have to type in a phone number in the field provided. Don’t forget to pick the correct international country code.

5. You will notice that WhatsApp will immediately inform you if the contact number you typed in is registered to a WhatsApp profile.

6. Tap the “Save” button at the upper right corner of the tab to save your new contact to your phone.

7. If the person already has a WhatsApp account, you will now be able to begin a conversation with them on WhatsApp.

Check our video to see the steps in action:

Without Adding Them To Your Contacts

Alternatively, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of saving the new contact on your phone, you can also send a WhatsApp text directly to the unknown number using your phone’s browser and the WhatsApp app.

1. Type in the URL https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=xxxxxxxxxx in your web browser. Replace the Xs with the phone number you want to contact, making sure that you’re using the correct international country code.

2. You will be brought to a screen with a message prompt to chat with the number that you’ve typed in. Confirm if the number is correct, then click “Continue to chat.”

3. If you’re using the Web version of WhatsApp and you don’t have the desktop application installed, you’ll be given the option to either install it or continue using the Web version.

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4. If you’re using a mobile device and you don’t have WhatsApp installed, the link will not be clickable. You need to have WhatsApp installed on your mobile device to be able to use this method.

5. You will then be redirected to a chat tab with the number that you’ve inputted. Now you can start a conversation with this person without saving their number on your phone.

Without Phone Number

Now, if you don’t even have the number of the person that you’re trying to find on WhatsApp, it’s going to be more difficult for you.

Fortunately, there’s still a way. As long as you have the person’s name, you can still connect with them using a variety of methods. However, all of these methods involve scouring the internet for the person’s phone number, as WhatsApp always needs a phone number for it to work.

Here are some tips on how to find someone on WhatsApp without number:

  • If the person you’re looking for has an official website or is a high-ranking employee in a company that has its own website, you can visit the site for their contact information. Usually, contact numbers of individuals can be found on the Contact Us, About Us, Our Team, or The Management pages of a website.
  • Browse through social media profiles. If you have a name, look for their LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter profiles where they might have their phone number out in the open.
  • Use a background check engine, like Kiwi, to search for the person that you’re looking for. Free background check searches are not that reliable, but there are some paid services that some people swear by. If you’re prepared to commit a little bit of money, you may want to try these out.
  • If you still don’t have any luck, then a Google search of the person you’re looking for is your best bet. It might be a long shot, but at this point, there’s nothing more you can do.

That is how to find someone on WhatsApp by name and without their number and only with their name. Once you find their number, you can then follow any of the instructions above to send them a message via WhatsApp.

FAQs

How To Find Someone On WhatsApp With Number?

If you already have someone’s phone number, simply add them to your phone’s contact list to start chatting with them on WhatsApp. You can also use WhatsApp’s direct chat function as mentioned in method 3 above to chat with someone without adding them first to your contact list.

How Do People Find Me On WhatsApp?

The only way for people to find you on WhatsApp is if they have your phone number. If they don’t have your number, they need to find your phone number first before they can start chatting with you on the app.

How To Find Someone On WhatsApp

All in all, it’s practically impossible to use WhatsApp without the contact number of the person that you want to begin a conversation with.

You can look for them in your contacts, make them into new contacts, even use your desktop PC, but without the phone number they used to register to WhatsApp, then there’s really nothing that you can do.

If you want to learn more about how to use WhatsApp efficiently, read our post with WhatsApp tips and tricks.

Did you find this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below if you have any questions, suggestions, or thoughts about this guide!

10 parts feed about WhatsApp — Tokar.

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You have been using WhatsApp for a long time, but you don't know everything about it yet? Tse is easy to correct. Here, the power is chosen, so that they often ask their services to support and respond to them.

Whatsapp security messengers

How to know if you have read my notification

Your list has been updated with a green tick. One order is issued for notification in a second after correction. This means that the message has been successfully delivered to the WhatsApp server. Another green tick means that the program on the phone has been connected to the server and successfully removed your notification. nine0003

Important: two green ticks indicating that it has been delivered to the addressee's phone, but not that it has been read. Abo yogo understood.

Well, if you send notifications to the group chat, notifications about delivery to the phone will not be displayed.

Why don't I have time to stay with my contacts? In order to get the status “online” or “be in the bag”, you will have to turn on the service of “nobody”.

nine0003

If it is necessary for a specific subscriber, you can be banned from a new one in the contact list. Do not worry and read further, to find out what it is.

Spivrezmovnik having read the message, but don’t tell me about the read. Might as well be at your wits' end, for example, the spymaster is covered by push-notifications for WhatsApp. If you can't block text on a locked screen, if you don't unlock your phone, then it will be left unreadable. nine0003

As a reminder of the old day, only a few parts are included in the reminder. Most of the time, it's the same on the iPhone.

As a reminder, two black ticks appeared, find out what it means.

How to block a koristuvach, who knows about it?

It is not possible to sing-songly recognize which wine. Vtіm, you can correct your message to the whole post and read the next paragraph. Ale and even singly do not recognize. So vodpovіd "nі".

How do you get a service, which for SMS or free of charge will tell you to read someone else's listing in WhatsApp, tick. The whole scam, and the more SMS, the more you are not a sucker. nine0013

How can I find out why my caller is blocking?

It is possible to sing a song without marveling at the phone of a caller. Vіm, as if I had blocked you, it could be a good reason not to give you a phone. Є kіlka sign, kakі can apply to those that you are blocked:

  • not updated profile photo
  • no information about delivery to your phone
  • the online status of the subscriber is not visible (“in the distance” or if the online status is restored)

Three options with great omnivornistyu can either tell on those who stumbled upon you and blocked you, or you are greedy with the program and do not greet with it.

I also recommend that you read about how Palestinian hackers hacked the WhatsApp website.

Why doesn't WhatsApp work in Uzbekistan?

In Uzbekistan, for the rest of the hour, do not start working on the power and retrieval of media files through whatsapp. Take it with humor. Try not to be surprised.

What is the costless ring

You can now call WhatsApp, read more in this article.

No one knows what is the cost-free calling in WhatsApp, because there is none. To make a free call, you can call Viber or Line. In extreme vipadku, Skype. WhatsApp only has the function of exchanging voice notifications.

How to read the correspondence in WhatsApp

Jealous boys and girls can spare themselves three hours and read the rest of the paragraph: it is impossible to find out with whom people correspond in WhatsApp. At every time, do not float in the hands of yoga. nine0003

If you really want to see your boyfriend's whatsapp correspondence, become a programmer, learn C# and XMPP, write traffic for wi-fi, get a good job, respect yourself. And if you know yourself another boy / girl, you can trust him.

Whatsapp has API

There is no access for third-party add-ons, which means that WhatsApp has no alternative clients. After Facebook bought yoga, the chances for api to appear became even smaller. nine0003

Similar to those who give WhatsApp security a lot of respect. If you want their software to be criticized often, you need to be careful: dirks in the new “patched” faster, lower in OpenSSL.

How to hack WhatsApp

No wonder: WhatsApp does not have authorization for login / password, the system is logged in with the XMPP protocol. Theoretically, yoga can be evil (and the deacons have already worked successfully), but all the dirks are constantly patched up, so social engineering will help you.

I wrote earlier about the evils of WhatsApp as a Dutch student. nine0013

The easiest way to read someone else's information is to ask you to read it or trick you into accessing it. As if robiv Kevin Mitnick.

And even better, stained glass for an hour is good. Read less news and more books.

Read also: Nine secrets of WhatsApp.

17 ways to make WhatsApp safer and more private

October 23, 2019 Technologies

Protect the messenger with a PIN code, remove information about the last time you were online, and hide notifications from prying eyes. nine0003

1. Set up two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication greatly increases the security of your account. It will protect you if scammers somehow get access to the SIM card.

Open WhatsApp and tap → Settings → Account → Two-Step Verification → Enable. Enter and remember the code you created, then enter your email address - you will need it if you need to reset your PIN. Click Done. nine0003

Now, every time you log into your WhatsApp account, in addition to the SMS code, you will also need to enter your PIN.

Read also 🧐

  • How to set up two-factor authentication for all your accounts

2. Disable pop-up messages

When your smartphone is locked, it still shows pop-up notifications. This is very convenient, but not safe: if you conduct confidential correspondence, anyone can spy on the contents of sent messages and the addressee's name on an unattended gadget. And it doesn't require a fingerprint or password. nine0003

Therefore, paranoid notifications should be turned off. There are two ways to do this: in WhatsApp itself and in the smartphone settings. In the messenger, open "Settings" → "Notifications". Turn off "Priority Notifications" in the "Messages" and "Groups" sections.

In the smartphone settings, the same is done as follows: open the system "Settings" → "Applications and notifications" → WhatsApp → "Notifications". Uncheck the "Show notifications" option.

If you don't want to turn off notifications completely, at least turn them off on the lock screen. To do this, tap "Settings" → "Lock screen" → "Advanced" → "Lock screen notifications". Here you can hide their content so as not to show the text of your messages to strangers, or simply disable them. nine0003

3. Block unwanted contacts

WhatsApp has a huge number of spammers, scammers and just weird and unpleasant people. Luckily, if you don't want to receive messages from someone, you can simply blacklist them.

Open a chat with an unwanted contact and tap "Menu" → "More" → "Block". Or select a conversation with him and press "Menu" → "View contact" → "Block".

You can view users in the black list and, if necessary, remove them from there by pressing "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy" → "Blocked". nine0003

4. Hide your active time

All WhatsApp users can see the last time you went online. But you can disable this feature so that overly annoying interlocutors do not ask questions why you do not respond to their messages.

Go to "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy". Click the item "Was (-s)". Change it from Everyone to Nobody. This way no one can see when you were last online. But keep in mind that in this case, you will not be able to see which of your friends when you went online. nine0003

5. Hide details

Details is the text that appears next to your name in your contact list. For newly registered users, this field contains “Hey there! I am using whatsapp. You can specify ready-made statuses there, for example, “At work”, “Busy” or write any quotes.

And if the message in your Details field is not for everyone, tap Menu → Settings → Account → Privacy → Details and select either My Contacts or Nobody. nine0003

6. Hide statuses

Statuses allow you to share photos, videos, text, and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. By default, they are shown to all your contacts. If you like to share gifs with cats with your friends, and they come to your boss, you run the risk of being in an awkward situation.

Therefore, go to "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy" → "Status". Select the "Contacts except" option and specify the people you don't want to annoy with your pictures. Or click "Share With" and your statuses will only be shown to the people you choose. nine0003

7. Hide your photo

Perhaps you want only people you know to see your profile picture. To do this, tap "Menu" → "Settings" → "Account" → "Privacy" → "Profile photo" and select the option "My Contacts".

8. Hide the read receipt

When you receive and view a message from someone, the sender has a read receipt checkmark next to their reply in the chat. This is usually convenient, but can sometimes lead to awkward situations. For example, you forgot to write to a friend in time, and he was offended. nine0003

To avoid this, tap Settings → Account → Privacy and turn off Read Receipts. Please note, however, that in this case you will no longer see the notification checkmarks. And in group chats, this feature does not work.

9. Read messages in flight mode

There is a little trick for those who do not like the previous paragraph. If you don’t want to turn off read receipts, but still want to look at the received letter and not tell anyone about it, switch your smartphone to flight mode. Then open WhatsApp and read the message. Then close it, turn off airplane mode, and the sender won't get a read receipt. nine0003

10. Hide conversations

If you want to hide but not delete a WhatsApp conversation, you can archive it. Press and hold the desired chat until you highlight it. Then, in the top menu, tap the "Archive" button.

Of course, any person who even knows how to use WhatsApp will still find a hidden chat if you give him time to sit on your smartphone. But still, thanks to archiving, confidential dialogues are not so conspicuous.

To view the archive of chats, scroll to the very bottom of the list of conversations and click the inscription "Archived". There you can also remove conversations that you added by mistake.

11. Disable Location Sharing

WhatsApp makes it easy for you to share your location with your interlocutor. This is much faster than typing an address. By default, WhatsApp prompts you to choose how long to show your location to a friend: 15 minutes, an hour, or 8 hours.

But it would be embarrassing to find out that you showed someone your location in real time for a long time because you mistakenly sent geodata to the wrong person. nine0003

To avoid this, go to Settings → Account → Privacy → Location and make sure you don't share your movements with anyone else.

12. Send private messages from public chats

When you reply to someone's messages in public chats, everyone in the conversation can see it. But you can also send private responses. To do this, highlight the message in the general chat and select the "Reply in person" option from the menu.

13. Revoke unwanted administrator rights

Did you appoint someone as an administrator in a group you created, and he abuses his authority? Revoke his rights. To do this, press and hold a group in the chat list, then tap Menu→Group Details. Select the name of the desired person and click "Revoke Admin".

14. Hide photos and videos from the gallery

By default, the WhatsApp client on Android saves all received media files to your smartphone's gallery. That is, if someone sent you a confidential photo, you may very well accidentally show it to your friends when you show off pictures from your vacation to them. nine0003

Go to Settings → Chats and turn off Media Visibility. Now uploaded files will not be saved in the gallery. At the same time, save mobile traffic.

15. Block the app

In WhatsApp for iPhone, you can secure the app with biometric authentication. Thanks to this, no one will be able to read the correspondence and send messages on your behalf, even if you leave your smartphone unattended.

Open WhatsApp and tap Settings → Account → Privacy → Screen lock. Turn on Touch ID for fingerprint recognition or Face ID for face recognition. Then choose how much time of inactivity to block WhatsApp after. nine0003

On Android, this feature is currently only available in the beta version of the app.

Read also 🧐

  • WhatsApp on Android has a fingerprint unlock feature

16. Delete unwanted messages

Sent someone a message and immediately realized that you shouldn't have done it? Whatsapp allows you to fix this error. To do this, press and hold the message until you highlight it, and then select the "Delete" option from the menu. nine0003

True, unlike Telegram, WhatsApp does not delete the message without a trace. Instead, the recipient will see "This message has been deleted." What you have sent will not be deleted after about an hour.

Read also 🧐

  • How to delete WhatsApp messages when this option is no longer available

17. Disable message backup

WhatsApp can back up your conversations to Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iOS. This will come in handy if you want to recover your messages after a system reset or transfer them to another device.

But in the cloud, messages are stored in unencrypted form, which, by the way, WhatsApp warns about in the settings of this function. So if someone gets access to your vault, then the correspondence will be in the wrong hands. If you've secured Google Drive and iCloud with two-factor authentication, there's not much to worry about.

Learn more