Write in WhatsApp in bold, italic and strikethrough

Formatting text in WhatsApp, i.e. writing it in bold, italic and strikethrough, is not that difficult. In this little guide I will show you how to format your short messages. I tested this with the WhatsApp app on iOS on the iPhone X. It should work similarly on the Android smartphone;)

Write in WhatsApp in bold, italic and crossed out - this can be done via the menu in the text field or with special characters. I show you both ways here.

Write in WhatsApp in bold, italic and strikethrough

You cannot preset a formatting for a WhatsApp message, so you cannot really write in the formatting mentioned. On the other hand, you first have to enter your text, then select it and then select the desired processing. These are the steps described at a glance:

1. Enter the desired text
2. Highlight text with a double tap
3. If necessary, adjust the marking with sliders
4. Select the menu item BIU (is a bit misleading because there is no underline)
5. From Fat, Italic, Strikethrough and Monospace the aussuch

Enter text and mark it - then the menu appears with the point for formatting.

Format text in WhatsApp under iOS - you have these options.

This is what a WhatsApp message looks like in monospace formatting.

Format WhatsApp message with special characters

If marking text in the input field is too awkward for you or if you just want to keep typing without having to pause for formatting in between, then you can also use the traditional characters for bold, italic, strikethrough and text written in monospace. These characters are used for this in WhatsApp:

• * for fat - example: *Bold text*
• _ for italics - example: _Text in italics_
• ~ for strikethrough - example: ~Strikethrough text~
• `` ` for monospace - example: `` Monospace Text ''

Format WhatsApp messages in bold or in italics?

I think bold or italic text in particular is probably used by some to emphasize certain words or parts of sentences in WhatsApp messages. How do you use the formatting options? Which statements do you particularly emphasize; and how do you go about it? Feel free to leave a comment about your usage experience with the text options in the app;) 

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.