The WhatsApp messenger has long ceased to be just a tool for exchanging short text messages. Today it is a full-fledged communication platform where users share emotions, documents and even conduct business correspondence. However, the standard font of the application, although readable, often seems boring and inexpressive, especially when you need to highlight a key idea or add emotional coloring to a message.
Fortunately, the developers have provided built-in tools text formattingthat allow you to change the style of letters without installing third-party apps. You can make text bold, italic, or strikethrough directly in the message input field. This does not require root access or complex configuration of system files, it is enough to know special marker characters.
In this article we will look in detail at how to change the font in WhatsApp on Android to beautiful italics and other styles, what limitations the built-in editor has, and how to use alternative methods to achieve a truly unique visual style. Understanding these mechanisms will help you stand out in general chats and make your correspondence more structured.
Built-in message formatting capabilities
Let's start with the basic functionality that is available to every user Android by default. The formatting system in WhatsApp is based on the use of special characters that surround the text. When you send a message, these characters disappear, leaving behind a modified letterform. This is the most reliable way to ensure that the recipient sees the text exactly as you intended, regardless of the version of their operating system.
To use italics you must use the underscore character. You wrap the desired phrase with underscores on both sides. For example, if you write _hello_, then after sending the interlocutor will see the word “hello” written in italic font. This is an ideal way to highlight quotes, foreign words, or add softness to a message.
In addition to italics, the system supports other types of style. You can combine them to create complex styles. For example, a combination of asterisks and underscores will make the text both bold and italic.
⚠️ Attention: If you put a space after the opening character (for example,textinstead oftext), the messenger will not recognize the command, and the characters will remain visible in the message as regular text.
The use of these tools does not affect the font size set in the system settings of your smartphone. They only change the style (style) of characters within a particular message. This means that even if you have small font in your menu Settings → Display, you can still make important words bold for emphasis.
Step-by-step guide for creating italics and styles
To put this knowledge into practice, let's go through according to a specific algorithm of actions. The process of creating stylized text is intuitive, but requires a certain habit so as not to lose the rhythm of typing. You can do this either manually by typing characters on the keyboard or using the context menu if your version of the application supports this function.
Let's consider the manual method, which works on all versions without exception. WhatsApp. Open a chat with any contact or group. In the text input field, type the underscore _. Immediately after it, without a space, start typing the text you want to make italic. End the phrase with the same underscore.
☑️ Text formatting algorithm
An alternative method is to use the context menu. On many modern smartphones running Android you can highlight already typed text in the input field. Once selected, a pop-up menu with three dots will appear. By clicking on them, you will see the options Bold, Italic, Strikethrough and Fixed space. Selecting the "Italic" item will automatically wrap your text in the desired characters.
This method is especially convenient if you They forgot which symbol is responsible for this or that style. You don't need to remember the combinations, just use the visual interface. However, it is worth noting that some custom keyboards or older versions of the OS may not have this menu, so knowledge of character codes remains a required skill.
Use the combination _text_to make the message both bold and italic. This creates a strong visual emphasis that is difficult to ignore.
Table of all available formatting symbols
For your convenience, we have organized all available commands into a single table. This will allow you to quickly find the desired symbol and not have to wonder why the text is not changing. Remembering the four basic combinations is not difficult, but having a cheat sheet on hand at first will be very useful.
| Text style | Marker symbols | Input example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold | Stars (*) | Hello |
Hello |
| Italics | Underlines (_) | _Hello_ |
Hello |
| Tildes (~) | ~Hello~ |
||
Monospace |
Back quotes (`) | `Hello' |
Hello |
Pay attention to the last point - monospace font. It uses the back apostrophe symbol (gravis), which is usually found on the keyboard next to the number 1 or in the symbols section. This style changes not only the style, but also the spacing between letters, making the text look like code or a message from a typewriter.
Use Fixed space is useful when you need to send a piece of code, a phone number, or any sequence of characters where it is important to maintain the exact spacing between characters. In this mode, WhatsApp disables automatic formatting of links and emoji within the selected block, which prevents accidental changes to the text.
Third-party generators of unusual fonts
If the standard four styles are not enough for you and you want to use truly “beautiful” and unusual fonts that resemble handwritten text, gothic or bubbles, you'll have to turn to third-party solutions. The built-in WhatsApp tools do not allow this, since the messenger uses the system font of the device.
There are many online services and generator applications that replace ordinary Latin letters with special characters from extended sets. Unicode. These characters visually appear as a different font, but remain plain text to the system. You enter a phrase into such an application, copy the result and paste it into the WhatsApp chat.
Popular services offer hundreds of style options: from elegant cursive with curls to aggressive Gothic letters. However, there is an important nuance here: not all devices can display such symbols correctly. If your interlocutor has an outdated version Android or specific firmware, instead of beautiful text, he may see squares or question marks.
⚠️ Attention: When using Unicode-based font generators, make sure that your text remains readable. Too complex decorative symbols can turn a message into an unreadable set of hieroglyphs on the recipient’s devices.
In addition, searching for such messages within a chat may not work correctly. Because the system treats these characters as unique characters and not as letters of the alphabet, the chat history search function may not find the desired word if it is written in a "pretty" font.
Why do some fonts not work?
Special Unicode characters that mimic fonts are not supported equally by all operating systems. Older versions of Android (below 7.0) often do not have the necessary libraries to display extended sets of glyphs, which leads to the appearance of broken characters.
Globally changing the font in Android settings
In addition to formatting individual messages, you can change the font of the entire WhatsApp interface, including chat lists, settings menus and headers. To do this, you need to change the system settings of your smartphone, since the messenger by default picks up the font installed in the operating system Android.
On most modern phones from Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and other manufacturers, this option is placed in the main settings menu. The path may vary slightly depending on the shell, but usually it looks like this: go to Settings → Screen → Font and text size (or a similar item).
In this section you can select one of the preset styles, if the manufacturer has provided such an option, or download new fonts from the company's theme store After applying the changes, the new font will appear in all applications that use system settings, including WhatsApp.
- 📱 On Samsung smartphones, use the application Galaxy Themes to download exclusive fonts.
- 🔧 On Xiaomi, look for the section Themes in the settings where you can change the style systems.
- ⚙️ On pure Android (Pixel, Motorola), the choice of fonts is limited, often only the size is available.
It is worth considering that changing the system font affects the readability of the entire phone interface. A font that is too fussy or decorative can make long articles in the browser or settings menu difficult to read. Therefore, for instant messengers it is better to choose strict but pleasing to the eye options, such as Roboto with modified kerning or classic serif typefaces.
Global font change through Android settings affects all applications at once, while formatting inside the chat changes only a specific message.
Compatibility and display issues
Even if you follow all formatting rules, you may encounter a situation where text is displayed incorrectly. This is often due to differences in software versions between the sender and recipient. The ecosystem Android is extremely fragmented, and hundreds of device models render text differently.
This is especially true for “beautiful” fonts from third-party generators. What looks like elegant cursive on your flagship may turn into a bunch of incomprehensible characters on a colleague's budget device. Standard markers (asterisks, underlines) are supported by all versions of WhatsApp starting with the earliest builds.
Problems may also arise when copying text from other sources. If you copy a fragment from a site where complex CSS formatting was used and paste it into WhatsApp, the messenger will try to clear the text to /plain text/, but some hidden characters may remain and break the structure of the message.
⚠️ Attention: Application interfaces and system settings may change with updates. If you do not find the "Font" item in the specified location, use the search in your phone settings or refer to the help of your device manufacturer.
To diagnose problems, try sending a test message to yourself or to another number. This will allow you to see how the message looks “from the outside”, without distortions caused by your own perception of the familiar interface. If everything is displayed correctly on the second device, then the problem is on the recipient’s side.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to change the font color in WhatsApp?
At the moment, it is impossible to change the text color in regular chats using standard means. Messages are always displayed in black (light theme) or white (dark theme). The color of the message bubbles depends on the theme, but not on the font settings.
Why is italic not applied to numbers?
In some system fonts, numbers do not have italic style, so when applying the format _123_ they may remain straight, while the letters next to them will bend. This is a feature of the specific typeface installed on your system.
Do these commands work in the status (History)?
Yes, text formatting using characters (*, _, ~) is fully supported in the "Status" section. You can create titles and accents in text statuses just like you do in private messages.
How do I remove formatting if I make a mistake?
Simply remove the special characters around the text before sending the message. If a message has already been sent, it cannot be edited to change the style (the edit feature only changes the content, not the formatting of older versions) and will have to be deleted and resent.
Does bold font affect the size of the message?
No, using formatting markers does not increase traffic size or memory footprint significantly. Marker characters are removed by the server during processing, and formatted text reaches the recipient.