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How To Change Fonts on WhatsApp

Written by, Nikola Dimovski

Updated March, 29, 2023

WhatsApp allows users to make their message bold or italics, change the font to monospace, and even add a strikethrough effect.

Read on to learn how to change fonts on WhatsApp and alternative methods on how to add different font styles and effects to your messages in the app.

How To Change The Font Size on WhatsApp

If you’re an Android user, you can change the font size in your chats on WhatsApp in the app’s Settings. 

iOS users can alter the font size from their phone (and not the app) since WhatsApp uses those settings to set the text size.

Android devices

To change the font size on WhatsApp on Android:

  1. Launch the app on your device.
  2. Tap ‘More Options’ (the three dots in the top right corner of the app.
  3. Select ‘Settings’.
  4. Choose ‘Chats’ from the menu.
  5. Tap ‘Font size’.

You can choose between three options: Small, Medium, and Large. Once you tap on the font size of your choice, the app will automatically update the change.

iOS devices

To change the WhatsApp font size from your device’s settings on an iOS device:

  1. Navigate to your home screen.
  2. Select ‘Settings’.
  3. Tap ‘Display and Brightness’.
  4. Tap on ‘Text Size’.
  5. Drag the slider to make the text size bigger or smaller.

Note: If you enable Larger Accessibility Sizes on your iPhone, you won’t be able to see group icons and profile pictures in the app. iPhone devices make this adjustment to ensure an easier-to-read display.

How To Change The Font on WhatsApp

WhatsApp doesn’t have a long list of fonts that users can choose from. For now, there’s only one font available: the monospace font.

To change the font on WhatsApp from default to monospace:

  1. Launch WhatsApp and open any chat.
  1. Type the message you want to send.
  1. Locate the backtick symbol (`), which looks like a reverse apostrophe, on your keyboard. On most phones, you should be able to type it by holding down the apostrophe symbol on the keyboard.
  1. Place three of these before and after your message, like this  “`text goes here“`.

Your text font will automatically turn into monospace. 

Keep in mind that the message should change font immediately, in the message box, before you send it out. If it doesn’t, you should double-check the symbols.

If you’re new to WhatsApp, this in-depth WhatsApp symbol guide might come in handy.

How To Make a WhatsApp Text Bold

There are two ways to emphasise a certain word or line in WhatsApp: by adding a symbol before and after your message or via WhatsApp’s built-in feature.

To change the font style to bold on WhatsApp with symbols: 

  1. Launch WhatsApp and open any chat.
  1. Type your message.
  1. Add the asterisk symbol (*) before and after the message to make the font bold, like this: *text goes here*.


To bold a text via WhatsApp’s built-in feature:

  1. Open any chat in your app.
  1. Type your message.
  1. Select the message and tap on ‘More Options’ (the three dots at the end). If you have an iPhone, tap ‘BIU’.
  1. Select ‘Bold’ from the list of options.

How To Make a WhatsApp Text Italic?

The Italics font style is another great way to emphasise a word, phrase, or an entire sentence in the app. 

To make your message Italic on the app, you can use a symbol on the keyboard or WhatsApp’s built-in feature.

To change the font style in WhatsApp to Italic with a symbol:

  1. Launch the app and open any chat.
  1. Type your message.
  1. Place an underscore (_) before and after your text like this: _text goes here_.

To change the font style to Italic on WhatsApp via the built-in feature:

  1. Launch the app and open a chat.
  1. Type your message.
  1. Select the text and tap on ‘More Options’ (the three dots at the end). Tap ‘BIU’ if you have an iPhone.
  1. Select ‘Italic’ from the list of options.

How To Do a WhatsApp Text Strikethrough

The strikethrough font effect, which uses a horizontal line in the middle of the text, is typically used to signify that something is wrong or should be ignored. 

You can add a strikethrough via the app’s built-in feature or by adding a symbol before and after your text.

To add a strikethrough effect with a symbol:

  1. Launch the app and open a chat.
  1. Type your message.
  1. Place a tilde (~) before and after your text like this: ~text goes here~.

To add a strikethrough effect via WhatsApp’s built-in feature:

  1. Launch the app and open a chat.
  1. Type your message.
  1. Select the text and tap on ‘More Options’ (the three dots at the end) if you have an Android or ‘BIU’ if you have an iPhone.
  1. Select ‘Strikethrough’ from the list of options.

Alternative Methods To Changing The Font on WhatsApp

Although Meta, which owns WhatsApp, allows for font changing in WhatsApp (font styles and effect included), the options are quite limited.

WhatsApp does not let users change font colour, underline the text, or choose between any of the popular font choices (like Impact and Comic Sans MS).

The only way to get those into your WhatsApp app is via third-party software. Here are some of the most popular choices:

  • Better Fonts (by Daneco Ltd.)

Better Fonts is one of the most popular third-party keyboard apps in the App Store that allows you to add different fonts to your keyboard. It offers more than 100 fonts, though, only about half of them are free. 

  • Blue Words (by appsRock)

Blue Words is an app that can only be found in the Google Playstore, which can convert the text you type into a number of fonts. The app comes in the form of a floating bubble which you can tap anytime you want to change the font of your text and numbers.

  • Fancy Text (by RunToFuture)

Fancy Text, which is only available to Android users only, is a text converter app. It allows you to change the font of your text into a different font style in the app, which you can then copy and paste into any other app, like WhatsApp or Instagram.

WhatsApp Font Change: Bottom Line

WhatsApp, the most used internet voice service provider in Britain, lets users change the font, font size and style, and even add a strikethrough effect to their texts. If you’re wondering ‘how to change fonts on WhatsApp’, there are two ways to do that: by adding a symbol or via the app’s built-in feature. Alternatively, you can download a third-party app that offers more font options.

My name is Nikola, and I’m an SEO Specialist and a tech enthusiast. I graduated from the Faculty of Economics, the department of E-Business Management. My experiences go from implementing ERP Solutions, CRM practices, and finally, on-page and off-page SEO. I take pride in staying ahead of the curve when it comes to SEO and keeping up with the latest changes to search algorithms. I love experimenting with new strategies and testing the results to see what works best. Outside of work, I enjoy tinkering with new tech gadgets and exploring the latest apps and software programs.