WhatsApp is one of the most common forms of messaging and has quickly replaced traditional SMS. However, one of its most significant drawbacks is that you can only start chats with numbers saved as phone contacts.
The only time you can do so without saving is when you receive a contact’s number from someone else inside a WhatsApp chat. In that scenario, you can start a conversation without adding the contact to your address book first.
I will show you three ways to bypass this limitation in this article.
4 Ways to Start WhatsApp chats Without Saving Contacts
By using wa.me links ( WhatsApp Links)
The official WhatsApp FAQ explains that it provides a formal way to contact an unsaved number. However, you cannot do so within the app. You can begin a chat with any number by going to the website: https://wa.me/phonenumber.
The phone number should include the person’s phone number without the + or 00 attached to the country code. For example, if the chat is with the number +237 671234567 in Cameroon, go to the URL https://wa.me/237671234567.
Once entered, you can begin a conversation quickly. You can then return to the app to continue your chat.
Text selection in Android and In-App Actions
This method is not widely known and is slowly integrated into most devices. It appears to work on both Android 9 Pie and Q, but only on stock devices (Pixels and Android One)
Whenever you have a phone number in any app, you can simply select the corresponding text and check the suggested actions. The main ones are always Call, Cut, Copy, and Paste. However, tapping the overflow button (three dots) may see more options, including sending a WhatsApp message. Just select that, and the chat will be started.
Using An App to Simplify the Process
If the above methods might be confusing or not fast enough, you can use an app to make things easier. You simply need to enter the phone number, tap a button, and it takes you to a newly-created chat on WhatsApp.
2 Other Apps:
Conclusion
The above-explained workarounds should come in handy if you frequently have short-term chats with strangers and do not want to save their contacts.
