To text someone using WhatsApp, both parties need to have WhatsApp installed on their phone. Once you have that, you can text any contact from your list of saved contacts. However, WhatsApp also allows you to text a number even though it is not saved on your device.
How to Use WhatsApp Without Saving Number
There are a few direct ways and workarounds to use WhatsApp to text someone without saving their number to your device. All these methods are described in detail below.
Messaging Yourself
You can send a text to yourself on WhatsApp. Only you can access this conversation. You can send the unsaved number to this conversation and then chat with that number by following these steps.
- Go to WhatsApp.
- Click on the New Chat icon on the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Click on your own number and send the unsaved phone number to this conversation.
- Click on the phone number and select Chat with …..
- A conversation with the unsaved number will open and you will be able to chat with this number.
Message From a Group
If a group chat on WhatsApp has a user whose phone number you haven’t saved, you can text them directly. You can follow these steps to do so.
- Go to the group chat with the user you wish to text.
- Click on their number in the conversation. You can also click on the group chat’s name to find the list of members and select the number from there.
- Click on Message …..
- A window with the number will open and you can chat with them.
Using WhatsApp link
WhatsApp has a link you can use to text someone without saving their number on your phone. You need a browser for this and it works on both PC and mobile. Please note that you need to install WhatsApp on your PC beforehand.
You can do that by visiting the WhatsApp download page and downloading the .exe
or .dmg
file. You will get instructions on how to install it. Then, you can follow these steps.
- Go to https://wa.me/phone-number. Instead of phone-number type in the full number of the person along with the country code.
- Tap on the pop-up to be redirected to the WhatsApp app.
- Click on Continue to Chat. Click on the pop-up again.
Using Truecaller
You can use the Truecaller app to text a number on WhatsApp. First, install the app and log in to your account. Then, follow these steps.
- Go to the app and type in the number you want to text.
- Click on the name that shows up in the search results.
- Click on WhatsApp at the bottom of the screen.
Through Shortcuts App on iPhone
You can use Siri shortcuts on your iPhone to text a number without saving it to your phone. You need to first have the Shortcuts app installed on your iPhone and create a shortcut.
Here’re the steps to create a shortcut:
- Go to the Shortcuts app > All Shortcuts.
- Click on + in the top right corner and give this shortcut a name.
- Go to Search for apps and actions and type in Safari.
- Select Open URLs.
- Click on URL and type in
wa.me/
- Select Ask each time on your keyboard and press Done.
Here’s how you can use the Shortcut:
- Copy the number you want to contact.
- Open the Shortcuts app.
- Click on the name of the shortcut you created.
- Paste the number and press Done.