Using 3 New WhatsApp Features Without Installing WhatsApp Gold has been one of the challenges many people are trying to solve on their smartphones.
WhatsApp Gold has become one of the many WhatsApp mods available for all mobile phone users, especially users of the Android OS.
Most people use WhatsApp mods because they believe there are features in the mods that the actual WhatsApp could not provide. Sometimes, these claims are true but there are quite some features that are available on real WhatsApp that most people didn’t know about.
In this short but relevant article, I will tell you about some of the amazing WhatsApp features on how to Use 3 New WhatsApp Features Without Installing WhatsApp Gold — that you could use without the mod. I mean without WhatsApp Gold which is the mod most people want to try these days.
What is WhatsApp Gold
WhatsApp Gold is a modified version of the actual WhatsApp we all know. This means that it was created with the sole aim of having more features compared to the original features we have on the actual app.
Altornedo7 created this particular modified version of WhatsApp. Most people also know this developer as Nasser.
Some of the major features that make people want to use this mod include;
- Hiding your Last Seen and Online status.
- Changing colour for the entire app.
- Disable read receipt. With real WhatsApp, you can disable read receipts completely so your contact will not know if you read their message. But with this mod, you can set the read receipt to only trigger after your contact receives your reply.
These are some of the amazing features WhatsApp Gold has.
How to download and install WhatsApp Gold
Note that these next few steps could make you lose your WhatsApp chat history or files sent to you via WhatsApp completely. This article is meant for educational purposes only and must be treated as such. ICT Catalogue will not be held responsible for any issues arising from following this tutorial.
- To install this version of WhatsApp, head to apkze.com.
- Download the WhatsApp mod APK file which will go straight into your download folder.
- Make sure you back up your WhatsApp chats by going to WhatsApp Settings >>> Chats >>> Chat Backup and clicking on the Back-Up. You must sign into WhatsApp with Gmail before going through this process. It will help back up your chats to Google Drive.
- Uninstall the original WhatsApp.
- Locate the APK file from your download folder using your file manager app.
- Click on the APK file to install it. Make sure you allow installation from Unknown Sources if it pops up.
- Open the new WhatsApp after installation, read the terms and conditions, accept them and restore your backup. That is it. Your WhatsApp should be working fine.
3 new features you should use instead of mods
There are some awesome features in WhatsApp most people did not know so they employ the use of WhatsApp mods. I will tell you three of the awesome features you can use in WhatsApp without relying on a mod.
Disable Online and Last Seen
Disabling your Last Seen has been there for many years now. However, a new feature has been up recently which is the feature that helps you disable your Online status.
If you use this feature, your contacts will not see when you are online and you will not see when they are online either. But you can read and reply to their messages.
- To enable this feature, simply tap on the WhatsApp settings >>> Privacy >>> Last Seen and Online.
- If you get to this point, set the “Who can see when I’m online” option to “Same as last seen”. Go up and set “Who can see my last seen” to “Nobody”. Refer to the screenshot below.
That is it. Nobody can see your last seen or your online status.
Enable fingerprint or face lock for WhatsApp.
Another major reason why people use WhatsApp mods is for security purposes. Most people prefer to lock their WhatsApp chats even if their phone is unlocked. This helps prevent people from eavesdropping on your WhatsApp messages even if you unlock your phone for them for some reason.
Earlier ICT catalogue wrote an article about how to do that. Read it; How to set up WhatsApp fingerprint lock on android phones.
Changing the colour of the WhatsApp
Another reason why most people use WhatsApp mods is to change the colour. Sometimes people only have a problem with the all-white appearance that comes with the default WhatsApp installation.
Of course, WhatsApp can help you take that white off. Unlike WhatsApp Gold and the other available mods, this does not give you the option to use custom colours. You only get to go dark or white.
ICT catalogue again has written an article about How to enable WhatsApp dark mode for your phone.
Why I do not recommend WhatsApp mods
There are so many reasons why I do not recommend the use of modified versions of WhatsApp. Below are some of the major reasons why I will not recommend it.
- WhatsApp mods are usually developed by individuals. This means that you entrust your security to an individual instead of an entire technology giant behind the original WhatsApp.
- Most WhatsApp mods have bugs that hackers can easily explore. By exploring means hackers can take advantage of the bugs in the mod to steal your data.
- There are instances where a modified version of WhatsApp can not back up your data to Google Drive. This means that you will lose your entire WhatsApp history data as soon as you lose your phone. When this happens, you will have absolutely nobody to seek help from.
- I hate the fact that the Android kernel is open-source. This alone puts you at risk of having developers and hackers exploring your OS with the slightest access you give them. WhatsApp mods are also apps sometimes that require you to enable certain permissions for them to work.
Who knows? The developers themselves could embed their exploits into the APK file.
Summary
I think the features of the original WhatsApp are enough to make chatting with your contacts comfortable. All those fancy modifications could get your private data leaked.
Using a mod simply voids your warrant of having someone to hold responsible if your data leaks. These are developers that might not even be using their real names online.
Make good use of this article about how to Use 3 New WhatsApp Features Without Installing WhatsApp Gold.
You have to be careful about the apps you install on your phone. Especially Android smartphone users.