On Tuesday, Meta revealed a new feature for WhatsApp: pin messages. Similar to the ability to pin chats in the home window, this feature lets users pin a single message at the top of a conversation. For users of PCs, iOS, and Android, the rollout is currently underway.
Users can emphasize key messages in both group and private chats by using pinned messages, according to WhatsApp. By making it simpler to locate crucial messages fast, this feature aims to save users time. All message types—text, polls, images, emojis, and more—can be pinned on Whatsapp and maintain end-to-end encryption.
How pin message feature work
Notably, there is a restriction on the duration of time that can be set for messages to be pinned in the chat pin window, even though pinned chats stay fixed in the WhatsApp home window. Pinned messages have three different duration options: 24 hours, 7 days (the default), or 30 days, according to the official blog post. When pinning, a banner allowing you to select the duration will appear. Admins have the ability to decide who can pin messages in group chats: all admins or just them.
It’s important to remember that messages will unpin automatically after their designated duration has passed if you don’t manually unpin them. Unpinning, on the other hand, has no effect on the chat’s content or accessibility; it just moves the message back to its original location within the conversation and removes it from the chat’s top banner. In this manner, you can maintain current messages while deleting old ones to create a more streamlined chat experience.
This is a comprehensive tutorial explaining how to pin a WhatsApp message on various platforms:
Pin WhatsApp message in Android
- To view the desired message, tap and hold.
- Tap More options from the context menu that displays.
- Choose Pin.
- Select whether you want the pinned message to stay up for 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days.
- To confirm, tap Pin once more.
Pin WhatsApp message in iPhone
- You can pin a message by tapping and holding it.
- Select More from the menu that displays.
- Choose Pin.
- Select between a 24-hour, 7-day, or 30-day period.
- To confirm, tap Pin.
Pin WhatsApp message in web and desktop
- The message you want to pin should be selected.
- Press the icon with three dots.
- Click the dropdown menu and choose Pin message.
- Select whether you want the pinned message to stay up for 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days.
- To confirm, click Pin.
Pinning message in WhatsApp group chats
Admins have the authority to determine who can pin messages in group chats. To make this function available:
- Android: Launch the group chat, select Edit group settings by tapping More options > Group Settings after it has opened.
- iPhone: Users can select “All members” or “Only admins” when they open the group chat by tapping Group info > Group Settings > Edit Group Settings.
- Web/Desktop: Access the group chat on the web or desktop, click Group info > Group settings > Edit group info, and choose “All members” or “Only admins.”
Messages can be pinned by anyone who has permission to do so. A system message alerts everyone in the chat—including the person who pinned it—when this happens. Nevertheless, the ability to view pinned messages is restricted.
You can remove a message that is pinned to the top of your WhatsApp conversation in the interim. The following explains how to unpin a message on various platforms:
Android:
- The pinned message can be tapped and held.
- Click the context menu and choose Unpin.
- To be sure, tap Unpin once more.
iPhone:
- The pinned message can be tapped and held.
- From the menu that displays, choose Additional options.
- Select Unpin.
- To be sure, tap Unpin once more.
Desktop and Web:
- Visit the message that is pinned.
- Press the icon with three dots.
- Choose, Unpin message from the menu that drops down.
- To be sure, click Unpin once more.