iPhone Text Effects: Tips and Tricks
March 18, 2025
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You've been texting with your friend when she asks you if you'd be willing to swap your conversation over to WhatsApp. You might wonder why, since text messages seemed to be working pretty well for you both. But WhatsApp has a few key features that set it apart from the rest of the crowd.
Used by over 2.8 billion users each month, WhatsApp takes the crown as one of the most popular messaging apps worldwide. It's pretty impressive when you consider that it's a third-party application, meaning it was not developed by either Samsung, Apple, or another phone manufacturer.
But why do people use WhatsApp vs. texting, or any other messaging app? The short answer is that it's wallet-friendly, very secure, and has some other nifty features to make it fun to use. Plus, whatever kind of cell phone you're in the market for, WhatsApp is compatible.
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WhatsApp is a third-party communication app. "Third-party" means that it's not native to a specific device manufacturer or operating system (like, say, iMessage is for Apple's iOS). You can download it on any mobile device, whether you have an iPhone or an Android, as well as your computer. You can also use it through an Internet browser like Safari or Chrome. Once you have a WhatsApp account, you can do most of the same things you're used to doing with other communication apps like iMessage and FaceTime:
WhatsApp really shines when it comes to conversation security. In fact, one of its primary product taglines is "Message Privately." It comes with privacy and security-oriented features like chat lock, which password protects personal chats, disappearing messages that auto-delete chats after a preset period, and silencing calls from unknown or spam callers.
Most importantly, however, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption in its messaging services. How does that affect you as a user? It means the developer has placed controls that ensure only you and the person you're chatting with can see or hear the conversations — no need to worry about eavesdropping or man-in-the-middle attacks. Not even WhatsApp has access to your conversations.
WhatsApp's journey began in 2009 when two Yahoo! programmers founded the company. It stayed independent until 2014, when Meta (called Facebook at the time) purchased it for $19 billion. End-to-end encryption wasn't added until shortly after the acquisition—after Facebook was hit with a $122 million penalty by the European Commission for social media privacy violations.
Why would users select WhatsApp vs. iMessage or another communications app? Well, several reasons:
Let's compare WhatsApp to other communication platform options.
WhatsApp does have some limitations as well. For example, it's prone to scams due to the ease of accessibility of mass messaging and calling tools. Some users also find video and image quality diminishes after being sent. WhatsApp, however, is constantly working to fix these issues and adding controls to help combat spam or unwanted messaging, allowing it to remain an excellent communication tool.
As we've touched on, WhatsApp's encryption makes it very safe to use.
When you send and receive WhatsApp messages, you'll just notice seamless, easy communication. Behind the scenes, it uses cryptography while sending messages or files and during calls, making them inaccessible to anyone other than the sender and receiver. Before content leaves the sender's device, it gets encrypted (jumbled to make it non-legible) and comes with a unique key only the receiver can unlock. Even if a third party somehow intercepted a text, they wouldn't see the message because they don’t have the key. All this is done automatically in the app, so there's no need for additional steps on your end.
The only safety risk to keep in mind is that WhatsApp isn't just used to connect with friends and family. Because you can mass-send messages for free with little effort, scammers commonly use the app for phishing and data theft. For example, they’ll commonly send WhatsApp messages pretending to be a family member or person in need and ask you to send money. It's a good thing it comes with spam silence features! Nevertheless, ensure your safety by:
As we mentioned, WhatsApp is closing on nearly 3 billion users worldwide. Of those, 91.3 million are American, making the US the country with the third-largest WhatsApp-using population. This number might be higher one day, but most people in the US have iPhones and have use iMessage instead due to its convenience and similar functions.
WhatsApp has really left its mark, however, in other areas of the world. Below, we break down the number of WhatsApp users by country:
Why so popular? Because of its free plans and broad accessibility, it lets anyone, regardless of device, chat with their friends and family. Despite being a major global power, we should note that China did not make the list. The Chinese government banned the app in 2017 to support its censorship and content moderation goals.
By now, we've all heard the dire warnings: "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product." In other words, if WhatsApp is such a great app, how come it’s free?
Before Facebook purchased the app in 2014, WhatsApp made money using a subscription model — charging $1 per user per year. After the acquisition, however, WhatsApp went completely free for most casual users and instead made money via its WhatsApp Business Account product that delivers communication features for companies to:
The service uses custom pricing based on the number of users, conversation categories, number of customer conversations, and the business location. This approach provides a straightforward revenue stream for the company.
WhatsApp gives you a no-cost, easy-to-use way to connect with friends and family on your mobile phone while ensuring robust security measures that protect your conversation privacy. All you need is a cellular data connection or WiFi. Its popularity will only continue growing and ultimately expand the number of users you can chat with.
Nearly all smartphones can use WhatsApp through a web browser or by downloading the app. Older phone models, however, may be out-of-date and no longer support WhatsApp's excellent features. So, if you're in the market for a new smartphone, check out our free, unbiased Phone Deal Finder to find the best phone deals on smartphones today.
WhatsApp allows users to send messages, make voice and video calls, and share files over the internet for free, providing a convenient way to communicate with others globally.
Texting uses SMS through your mobile carrier and may incur charges, while WhatsApp uses internet data to send messages, enabling features like group chats, media sharing, and voice/video calls without additional costs.
WhatsApp is generally considered safer than standard texting because it uses end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only the sender and receiver can read the messages, while regular SMS is not encrypted and can be more vulnerable to interception.
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