WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the handy features it offers is click to chat, which allows you to start a chat with someone without having their phone number saved in your contacts.
Click to chat makes it easy to connect with businesses, friends of friends, or anyone else on WhatsApp. But how exactly does it work? Here, we’ll walk through a FAQ on how to use click to chat on WhatsApp.
What is click to chat on WhatsApp?
Click to chat is a feature that allows you to start a WhatsApp chat with someone without having their contact number saved in your phone’s address book. All you need is a link to their WhatsApp account.
When you click on such a link on a website, ad, or from someone, it will open up a chat with that person’s WhatsApp account. This allows you to message someone without already having them saved in your contacts.
How does click to chat work?
Click to chat uses WhatsApp links that look like this: https://wa.me/phone_number. When you click on a link with someone’s WhatsApp number, it will open up your WhatsApp app and start a chat with their account.
These links are generated when someone shares the link to their WhatsApp account. They can share this link on their website, social media profiles, emails, ads, or other platforms to allow people to start a chat with them.
When you click on one of these links on your smartphone, it will open the WhatsApp app. If you don’t have WhatsApp installed, it will redirect you to the Play Store or App Store to download it. Once opened, it will automatically begin a chat with the number from the link.
Where can I find WhatsApp click to chat links?
Here are some places you may come across click to chat links for WhatsApp:
- On websites – Many businesses list a WhatsApp click to chat link on their website’s contact pages or headers/footers to let you message them.
- Social media profiles – People sometimes share WhatsApp click to chat links on social media like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook to let you message them.
- Ads – Businesses may include a WhatsApp click to chat link in their digital ads or print ads to make it easy for you to follow up.
- Email signatures – Some people include their WhatsApp number link in their email signature.
- Shared by contacts – Your friends/contacts may share someone’s WhatsApp link with you to help you connect with them.
- Group invites – WhatsApp group admins can create invite links to their groups using click to chat links.
Anywhere you see a link starting with https://wa.me/, you can click it to open up a WhatsApp chat with that number or account.
How do I create a WhatsApp click to chat link?
You can easily create a WhatsApp click to chat link for your own number to share with others:
- Open WhatsApp on your phone.
- Go to Settings > Profile > Click on your profile name.
- Tap on “Share my contact” and select WhatsApp.
- This will generate a link to your WhatsApp account starting with https://wa.me/. You can copy this link.
- Paste the link anywhere you want people to be able to click to chat with you on WhatsApp.
Some common places to share your own WhatsApp click to chat link include your website, email signature, business cards, social media profiles, and more.
Can I use click to chat on WhatsApp Web/Desktop?
Unfortunately, you cannot use WhatsApp’s click to chat feature on WhatsApp Web or Desktop at the moment. The click to chat links will only open your WhatsApp account on your smartphone.
On WhatsApp Web/Desktop, if you click on a https://wa.me link, it will just open a browser tab taking you to web.whatsapp.com rather than opening the chat.
This is because the click to chat protocol is designed for mobile devices and relies on your phone’s operating system to automatically open WhatsApp when clicking the links.
Hopefully, WhatsApp will add support for click to chat on the desktop in the future. But for now, you need to be on your phone to be able to use it.
Can I use click to chat for groups?
Yes, click to chat links can also be generated to join WhatsApp groups in addition to messaging individuals.
Group admins can create invite links to their groups by following these steps:
- Open the WhatsApp group and tap on the Group name at the top.
- Tap on Invite via link.
- Tap on Generate link. This will create a click to chat link for the group.
- Share this link with anyone you want to join the group. When they click it, they will be prompted to join.
This provides an easy way to get new people to join your WhatsApp groups without needing to manually add each person’s number.
Is click to chat safe to use?
Yes, click to chat is generally safe to use when you click on WhatsApp links from trusted sources. Here are some tips to use it safely:
- Only click links from trusted individuals and sources, like known contacts or verified businesses.
- Check that the link uses a valid WhatsApp URL starting with https://wa.me/.
- Make sure the link opens WhatsApp and doesn’t redirect elsewhere.
- Don’t click WhatsApp links from unknown sources or suspicious messages.
- Use common sense – if something seems suspicious, don’t click the link.
As long as you follow basic precautions, click to chat is designed to be secure. WhatsApp encrypts all your messages and calls end-to-end.
Can I block/report someone I click to chat with?
Yes, even if you start a chat through click to chat with someone not in your contacts, you can still block or report them like any other WhatsApp contact.
To block someone on WhatsApp:
- Open your chat with the contact.
- On Android: Tap the three dots at the top right > More > Block.
- On iPhone: Swipe left on the contact’s name > Block Contact.
To report someone to WhatsApp:
- Open your chat with the contact.
- On Android: Tap the three dots at the top right > More > Report.
- On iPhone: Swipe left on the contact’s name > Report Contact.
Blocking or reporting removes the contact from your WhatsApp and prevents any further messages from getting through.
Can I reply to a WhatsApp message from a click to chat link?
Unfortunately, no – WhatsApp’s click to chat links only allow you to initiate a new chat. You cannot directly reply to a WhatsApp message from someone using just the click to chat link.
To reply to a WhatsApp message, you need to have the person’s contact saved in your phone’s address book. Saving a new contact on WhatsApp from a click to chat message will allow you to reply.
Until WhatsApp adds the ability, click to chat links can only start new conversations. To properly reply, you’ll need to add the person to your contacts after your initial click to chat.
Can I use click to chat on multiple devices?
WhatsApp’s multi-device capability allows you to link up to 4 devices to one WhatsApp account. However, click to chat currently only works on your primary smartphone device.
If you click on a WhatsApp link while logged into WhatsApp Web or another linked device, it will not open the chat on that device. You will have to click the link again on your main WhatsApp phone app for it to work.
Hopefully, this limitation will be changed in the future as WhatsApp expands multi-device support. But for now, click to chat is limited to only your primary smartphone.
Is there a click to chat app?
There are no specific apps just for WhatsApp’s click to chat feature. It is built directly into WhatsApp itself.
On your smartphone, any links with https://wa.me/ will automatically open your WhatsApp app when clicked. You don’t need to install anything extra for click to chat to work.
Some apps like business management platforms may generate WhatsApp links for you to share. But there are no apps exclusively for consuming click to chat links – it’s handled by WhatsApp automatically.
Can I use click to chat on WhatsApp Business?
Yes, click to chat links work the same way for WhatsApp Business accounts. When you share your WhatsApp Business profile link, people can click to start chatting with your business account.
To find your business account’s click to chat link on Android:
- Open WhatsApp Business.
- Go to Menu > Business Profile.
- Tap Share and select WhatsApp.
- This generates a click to chat link for your business.
You can also use this link in your business listings, ads, website, and other platforms where you want customers to easily message you.
Can I use click to chat internationally?
Yes, WhatsApp click to chat works internationally as long as the person clicking the link has WhatsApp installed and set up on their phone.
The click to chat links use international phone number formatting with the country code – like https://wa.me/15551234567 for a US number.
As long as the number format is valid for WhatsApp in that country, anyone around the world can click the link to message you. This allows click to chat to work globally.
Is click to chat free?
Yes, WhatsApp’s click to chat feature is completely free to use. There are no extra charges or fees to click on these links or use them yourself.
The WhatsApp messages themselves are already free through your data plan or WiFi. Click to chat just provides an easy way to start conversations without needing someone’s number saved.
Businesses can use click to chat at no cost to have customers message them through WhatsApp. And users can click on as many links as they want with no fees.
Conclusion
WhatsApp’s click to chat provides a simple and convenient way to start conversations without contacts. It helps connect users around the world across language and device barriers.
Look for https://wa.me/ links on websites, ads, social profiles, and messages to easily chat with people and businesses on WhatsApp. You can also create your own link to share with anyone you want to WhatsApp with.
Click to chat streamlines initiating new WhatsApp chats while maintaining the security and convenience of the platform. Businesses and users alike continue finding innovative ways to leverage click to chat to enhance connections.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is click to chat on WhatsApp? | A feature to start a WhatsApp chat with someone using a https://wa.me/ link without having their contact number saved. |
| How does click to chat work? | It uses special links that open WhatsApp and start a chat. Anyone can generate a link to their account to share. |
| Where can I find click to chat links? | Websites, social media, ads, email signatures, messages from contacts, etc. Anywhere a https://wa.me/ link is published. |
| Can I use it on WhatsApp Web/Desktop? | No, currently click to chat only works on your smartphone’s WhatsApp app, not the web or desktop versions. |
| Is click to chat safe? | Yes, it’s generally safe if you only click trusted links. WhatsApp chats are end-to-end encrypted. |
| Can I reply to messages from it? | No, you can only start new chats. To reply, you need to save the contact to your address book. |
| Does click to chat work internationally? | Yes, click to chat works worldwide as long as the link is formatted correctly. |
| Is it free? | Yes, WhatsApp does not charge anything extra to use click to chat. |