WhatsApp Text Formatter
Bold, italic, strikethrough, monospace, quotes and lists at the press of a button — see the message in a WhatsApp bubble, then copy it. Fancy fonts for your name and About are one tab over.
189 characters
Select words and press a button — or Ctrl/⌘+B and +I. Nothing selected formats the whole message. The symbols are what WhatsApp reads: paste the copied text into any chat and they turn into the formatting.
How it looks in the chat
Drawn with WhatsApp’s own rules: a symbol only formats when it hugs the words, and each line is formatted on its own.
How it works
How to format text in WhatsApp?
Type or paste your message
Write it as you would in the chat — the box holds exactly what will be sent, symbols and all.
Select words and press a button
B, I and S for bold, italic and strikethrough, the code buttons for monospace, and the quote and list buttons for whole lines. Press again to take it off. With nothing selected, the whole message is formatted.
Check the bubble
The preview draws the message the way WhatsApp will — so a symbol that will not work (a space inside the asterisks, say) shows up as a symbol before anyone else sees it.
Copy it into WhatsApp
Press Copy for WhatsApp and paste it into any chat, group or channel. Or press Send on WhatsApp to open the app with the message ready and pick who gets it.
Cheat sheet
WhatsApp text formatting codes
Every format WhatsApp supports is a symbol typed around the words or at the start of a line. They work in chats, groups and channels — on Android, iPhone, WhatsApp Web and the desktop app.
| Format | Type | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | *text* | An asterisk on both sides. |
| Italic | _text_ | An underscore on both sides. |
| Strikethrough | ~text~ | A tilde on both sides. |
| Monospace | ```text``` | Three backticks each side. Can run over several lines. |
| Inline code | `text` | One backtick each side, shown on a grey chip. |
| Quote | > text | A > and a space at the start of the line. |
| Bulleted list | - text or * text | A dash or asterisk and a space at the start of each line. |
| Numbered list | 1. text | A number, a full stop and a space at the start of each line. |
In the app
Formatting without typing the symbols
WhatsApp has a menu for the inline formats too. On Android, select the words and tap the three dots in the pop-up — Bold, Italic, Strikethrough and Monospace are there. On iPhone, select the words and tap Format. Quotes and lists have no menu entry: type the symbol at the start of the line, or format them here.
The formatting only works where messages are written. Your name, your About and a group’s name show the symbols as typed — that is what the Fancy fonts tab is for. Writing the About line itself? Get About and status ideas from a few words, then style one here. Doing the same for a LinkedIn post? bold and italic for LinkedIn works the Unicode way, since LinkedIn has no symbols of its own.
Questions