How to Find Your Friends on WhatsApp

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging and video calling apps around. It has at least more than 300 million active users worldwide. WhatsApp users love the app because it’s light, easy to use, and has many fantastic features.

Adding friends to your WhatsApp account is not the same as inviting friends to Whatsapp, but both can get categorized as finding your friends on Whatsapp. These two items function differently and require different steps.

Adding friends means you add current Whatsapp users from your phone’s Contact list, while inviting friends means you send an email or SMS to someone on your phone’s Contact list and ask them to join WhatsApp.

If you’ve decided to try it out, the first thing you need to do is find your friends on WhatsApp. Then, you can add them and start chatting or making calls with them. This article shows you how to find your friends on WhatsApp and invite others to join.

Where Are Your WhatsApp Contacts?

Once you’ve downloaded WhatsApp from the Play Store or App Store, it’s natural to start familiarizing yourself with the app. Fortunately, WhatsApp has a clean and user-friendly interface, with no unnecessary clutter to distract you from the important stuff, such as chatting with or calling your friends. To see any friends on your WhatsApp list, you must add them. However, they must be using the app too.

Steps to Ensure You See Your Friends on Your WhatsApp Contacts List

As previously mentioned, your friends must use WhatsApp to appear on your WhatsApp Contacts list. Adding friends is very simple, but you must have a phone number for each one stored in your phone’s Contacts list.

1. Make sure you’ve saved your friend’s WhatsApp registered phone number in your phone’s address book.
   
2. Allow WhatsApp to have access to your phone contacts. Go to your phone’s Settings.
   
3. Now launch WhatsApp and select the “Chats” tab.
   
4. Now select the “New Chat” icon at the lower right corner of the screen.
   
5. You’ll see all of your phone’s contacts (that have phone numbers registered with WhatsApp) that are also using WhatsApp.

Remember, you can only reach a friend via WhatsApp if they’re using the app themselves. If you know for sure that they’re not using WhatsApp, but you’d like to encourage them to do so, you can always invite them to download WhatsApp and join your conversation.

How to Invite Friends from Your Contacts List to WhatsApp

As previously mentioned, the contacts that appear in WhatsApp are those that use the app. Otherwise, your friends from your phone’s Contacts will not show. Here’s how to invite friends to WhatsApp.

How to Invite Friends to WhatsApp on Android

Just scroll down to the bottom of your WhatsApp contacts list to the “Invite friends” option. You can send the invitation by sending them an SMS, email, or another web-based texting app you’re both currently using.

1. Navigate to WhatsApp Chat screen, then start a new chat.
2. Scroll down if applicable, then tap on “Invite friends” towards the bottom.
3. Choose your sending method, such as email, Messages, Zoom contacts, etc.
4. Create your message.
5. Tap “Send” when finished.
6. Your friend receives your message with a link to download and login or register on WhatsApp.

How to Invite Friend to WhatsApp on iPhone/iOS

1. Launch WhatsApp and head to your Chat screen.
2. Tap the “Chat” icon in the top-right section.
3. Select “Invite friends to WhatsApp.”
4. Select the option to email or message your friend depending on preference.
5. Select the friend from your iPhone contacts list and select the “Send 1 invite” button.
6. Your friend receives your message with a link to install and login or register on WhatsApp.

How to Add WhatsApp Contacts?

Okay, you found your friends on WhatsApp, but what now? The next step is to add your friend to the chats list and start sending messages, stickers, gifs, and pretty much anything else. Remember that they must currently use WhatsApp to appear on your Contacts list.

1. Launch WhatsApp and select “New Chat.”
2. A list of contacts from your phone that use WhatsApp appears.
3. Select the friend of choice, then tap on their name or profile icon to start a conversation.
4. Send a message and await their reply.

How to Add International Numbers

WhatsApp is incredibly convenient for staying in touch with family and friends that live abroad. You should ensure that you always have the latest WhatsApp version and that your phone is connected to a stable Wi-Fi connection.

And you can make video calls all across the world. But if your friends are using international numbers, you must add them correctly to your phone to find them in your contact list. Here’s how you do it:

1. Go to your phone’s contact and select “Add New Contact”.
   
2. Make sure you add the plus symbol (+) when entering your friend’s number.
   
3. Make sure you have the correct country code.

If you want to use WhatsApp to talk to friends using international numbers, you must have both the plus sign and the country’s code, followed by your friend’s phone number. Only then will their profile appear in your WhatsApp contacts.

What If You Can’t See Your Friend’s Profile?

So, you’re confident that you’ve added the correct contact information, both for US-based friends and international contacts. Only you see their name but none of the profile information like photo, status, and last seen time. And you’re probably wondering what’s going on. There are several reasons why this might be happening.

1. The friend you’re trying to reach has their privacy settings turn to “Nobody”, which means no one can reach out to them first.
2. They might have blocked your number.
3. You’re experiencing connection issues and should try later.
4. They may have just not set a profile photo yet.
5. Their privacy settings are set to “My Contacts,” and they have yet to save you as theirs.

Another issue you might encounter is that you’ve added the contact correctly, but you realize by the profile picture that it’s not, in fact, your friend but someone else. This scenario probably means that the contact you’re adding has given up their phone number, and now someone else is using it instead. It’s not uncommon for providers to reuse numbers.

WhatsApp Makes Staying in Touch Easier

Even if you experience a few hiccups along the way when finding your friends on WhatsApp, the process is relatively quick and straightforward overall. The pesky international codes and pluses might cause some confusion, but that’s simple enough to sort out.

All you need to remember is to put the phone number in your phone’s address book first. From there, it’s a breeze. And checking for new WhatsApp updates regularly always makes using it much smoother.

Have you had any trouble finding your friends on WhatsApp? What about adding international numbers? Let us know in the comments section below.