WhatsApp Gains New Text Formatting Options in Latest Update

WhatsApp has added new text formatting options to the chat platform, enabling users to message each other everything from grocery lists to step-by-step instructions in mid-conversation.

whatsapp formatting options
Following Wednesday's update, WhatsApp users can now use bulleted and numbered lists, block quotes, and inline code to communicate more effectively.

The new formatting options join the existing bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospaced formats that have been available to WhatsApp users for a while now.

How to Use New WhatsApp Text Formatting Options

  • Bulleted list: Start a new line with a - (dash) symbol, followed by a space.
  • Numbered list: Start a new line with 1 or 2 digits, followed by a period and a space.
  • Block quote: Start a new line with the > symbol, followed by a space.
  • Inline code: Wrap any code or text you want to highlight using the ` (backtick) symbol.

whatsapp

All of WhatsApp's text formatting options (Image: WhatsApp)

Last month, WhatsApp introduced a custom sticker creation tool for iPhone users running iOS 17 or later. In a future update, WhatsApp also plans to add passkey support, allowing iPhone users to sign in to the app with Face ID, Touch ID, or their device's passcode.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

CB1234 Avatar
24 months ago
Wish iMessage would add more features - not gimmicky ones, but really useful ones like WhatsApp has. Lot of our clients prefer to use WhatsApp to communicate, instead of emails. WhatsApp is very very useful for business chats.

iMessage on other hand is not intuitive or business user friendly much...
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sanmi Avatar
24 months ago
Just ficking give us an iPad app
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3530025 Avatar
24 months ago
Yep! Markdown formatting should be standard feature.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timber Avatar
24 months ago

Wish iMessage would add more features - not gimmicky ones, but really useful ones like WhatsApp has. Lot of our clients prefer to use WhatsApp to communicate, instead of emails. WhatsApp is very very useful for business chats.

iMessage on other hand is not intuitive or business user friendly much...
Sometimes in these threads it seems that a lot of people think that WhatsApp only gets used because some people aren't blessed with iMessage.
Well, as you pointed out WhatsApp is a very well put together app, simple and effective.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
24 months ago

Wish iMessage would add more features - not gimmicky ones, but really useful ones like WhatsApp has. Lot of our clients prefer to use WhatsApp to communicate, instead of emails. WhatsApp is very very useful for business chats.

iMessage on other hand is not intuitive or business user friendly much...
Surely iMessage as a business tool is a non-starter anyway due to its single-platform nature? A business communications app for me has to be cross platform, if I can't message colleagues on Windows and Linux with it then it's no use.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
toobravetosave Avatar
24 months ago
apple too busy going thru their app review backlog for some extra free 30%s
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)