The Tilde Shortcut: Instant Strikethrough
Unlike sophisticated word processors with top-heavy ribbon menus, WhatsApp relies on a simplified version of Markdown. To apply a strikethrough to your text, you use the tilde symbol (~).
Type a tilde (~), followed by the word or phrase, and then another tilde immediately after it.
Example: ~This is a mistake~ becomes This is a mistake.
There is one non-negotiable rule for this to work: No spaces. If you type ~ word ~, the tildes will remain visible as plain text. The symbols must hug the characters they are modifying. This behavior is consistent across the WhatsApp iOS app, Android app, and the desktop/web clients.
Why use strikethrough instead of deleting?
Editing a message is technically possible on WhatsApp now, but strikethrough remains a superior choice in three specific scenarios:
- Changelogs and Updates: If you are coordinating a project and a deadline or link has changed, striking through the old information and placing the new info next to it provides a paper trail. It prevents others from wondering if they misremembered the previous message.
- The "Dry Humor" Effect: Strikethrough is the universal digital signal for a comedic aside or a thought the sender is "pretending" to hide. It adds a layer of tone that plain text often lacks.
- Task Management: In shared family or work groups, reacting to a grocery list item by sending back the items with strikethroughs is a fast, visual way to indicate completion without cluttering the chat with "Done" or "Got it."
If you find memorizing symbols tedious, or if your mobile keyboard makes finding the tilde a three-tap nightmare, you can use the native UI menu.
On iOS:
- Type your text.
- Double-tap the word or tap and hold the phrase to select it.
- Tap the Format button (you may need to tap the right arrow
> first).
- Select Strikethrough.
On Android:
- Type your text.
- Tap and hold the text you want to format.
- From the floating menu, tap the three-dot icon.
- Select Strikethrough.
Note that while the long-press menu is user-friendly, it is slower for power users. If you are frequently formatting text, learning the character shortcuts for markdown is significantly more efficient.
Combining Strikethrough with Bold and Italics
WhatsApp allow users to stack formatting styles. However, you must nest the symbols in the correct order (mirroring them).
- Bold + Strikethrough:
*~text~*
- Italic + Strikethrough:
_~text~_
- The Full Stack:
*_~all three~_*
If you mess up the nesting order (e.g., ~*text~*), the parser often fails on the desktop app, even if the mobile app manages to render it. For the most reliable cross-device results, always close your tags in the reverse order you opened them.
WhatsApp recently updated its parser to include more robust options. While these don't currently support a "combined" strikethrough through a whole block easily, they are essential for clean communication.
Bulleted and Numbered Lists
Instead of manually typing dashes or numbers that don't indent correctly, use the native triggers:
- Bulleted Lists: Type a dash (-) or an asterisk (*) followed by a space.
- Numbered Lists: Type a number (1, 2, etc.) followed by a period and a space.
Quotes and Inline Code
- Block Quotes: Use the angle bracket followed by a space (
> ) to highlight a specific part of a previous message you are responding to.
- Inline Code: Use a backtick (`) to wrap text. This is useful for passwords, courier codes, or technical snippets because it uses a fixed-width font and prevents the app from auto-formatting special characters inside the backticks.
Case Study: The "Correction" Strategy
Consider a freelance project manager, Sarah, who manages five different WhatsApp groups for clients. Sarah used to use the "Edit" feature (available by long-pressing a sent message within 15 minutes). However, she found that clients often missed the small "edited" label at the bottom of the bubble, leading to confusion about which version of the instructions they were following.
She switched to a "Strike and Replace" system for critical data:
Sarah: The meeting is at 10:00 AM 11:30 AM on Tuesday.
By doing this, she ensured that the client saw the change immediately. The visual "X" through the old time acted as a pattern interrupt. In usability testing (and general human psychology), we process strikethrough text as "invalid" faster than we process a change in a purely edited sentence.
When using strikethrough for longer paragraphs, be aware of WhatsAppβs truncation rules. On the mobile preview (the notification banner), markdown symbols often appear as plain text. The recipient might see ~This is a secret~ in their push notification because the OS banner doesn't always render the formatting.
Inside the app, long messages are truncated with a "Read More" link. If your strikethrough begins before the "Read More" break but the closing tilde is after it, the formatting usually applies correctly once the user expands the message, but the unexpanded view might look broken or unformatted. To avoid this, keep your formatted snippets concise and within the first 100-150 characters of a long message.
Accessibility and Screen Readers
It is important to note that text formatting in WhatsApp is primarily a visual experience. When a screen reader (like VoiceOver on iOS or TalkBack on Android) encounters a WhatsApp message with a strikethrough, it typically does not announce "strikethrough" before the word. It simply reads the text as if the formatting weren't there.
If you are communicating something where the distinction between the old (struck-through) info and the new info is critical for an employee or friend who uses assistive technology, do not rely on the tilde/strike alone. Use explicit words like "Updated to:" or "Correction:" to ensure the message is clear for everyone.
For more advanced text styling across different platforms, you can use our WhatsApp text formatter to preview how your messages look before you hit send.
