WhatsApp Font Style: How to Change Fonts in WhatsApp

All 8 WhatsApp font styles at a glance

Here is the complete list of formatting WhatsApp supports in messages, on Android, iPhone, WhatsApp Web and the desktop app. The symbols are the same on every device, and the person you send to sees the styled text as long as their WhatsApp is reasonably up to date.

• Bold: put an asterisk on both sides, *Happy Diwali* → Happy Diwali in bold.

• Italic: put an underscore on both sides, _see you soon_ → see you soon in italics.

• Strikethrough: put a tilde on both sides, ~Rs 999~ → Rs 999 with a line through it.

• Monospace: put three backticks on both sides, ```ORDER-1042``` → typewriter-style text.

• Inline code: put one backtick on both sides, `UPI ID` → a small highlighted block inside a sentence.

• Bulleted list: start a line with a hyphen and a space, "- Milk".

• Numbered list: start a line with a number, a full stop and a space, "1. Bring ID card".

• Quote: start a line with a greater-than sign and a space, "> Meeting moved to 4 pm".

How to write bold, italic and strikethrough in WhatsApp

The rule that trips most people up: the symbol must touch the first and last letter, with no space in between, and there must be a space or punctuation outside it. *Sale* works; * Sale * does not. The style only appears after you finish typing the closing symbol, and in your text box you will see the symbols greyed out next to the styled text.

1. 1.

   Bold

   Hi {{name}}, our Diwali sale starts tomorrow at 10 am.

   CopySend to your list
2. 2.

   Strikethrough

   Silk sarees now Rs 2,499 Rs 1,799 only, till Sunday.

   CopySend to your list
3. 3.

   Italic

   _Thank you for being with us this year, {{name}}._ 🙏

   CopySend to your list

1. 1

   Type the opening symbol

   Type * for bold, _ for italic or ~ for strikethrough, right before the first letter.

2. 2

   Type your words

   Write the word or sentence you want styled. It can be a single word or a whole line.

3. 3

   Close it with the same symbol

   Type the same symbol right after the last letter, with no space, for example *Flat 20% off*.

4. 4

   Check and send

   The text turns bold, italic or struck through in the box. Send it and the other person sees the style, not the symbols.

Monospace and inline code in WhatsApp

Monospace (three backticks) gives every letter the same width, like a typewriter. It is handy for order numbers, coupon codes, account numbers or anything people may copy, because 0 and O or 1 and l are easier to tell apart. Inline code (one backtick) puts a small shaded box around a word or code inside a sentence, which makes a coupon or UPI ID stand out.

The backtick key is on the left of the number row on a computer keyboard. On a phone keyboard it is usually on the second or third symbols page (tap ?123, then =\< on Gboard, or hold the apostrophe key on an iPhone).

1. 1.

   Monospace

   Dear {{name}}, your order RS-20451 has been shipped.

   CopySend to your list
2. 2.

   Inline code

   Use code `DIWALI20` at checkout for 20% off, {{name}}!

   CopySend to your list
3. 3.

   Inline code

   Please pay to UPI ID `rapidstore@okhdfc` and share the screenshot. Thank you!

   CopySend to your list

Bulleted lists, numbered lists and quotes in WhatsApp

Lists and quotes are newer styles (added in 2024) and work on Android, iPhone, Web and desktop. Each one is set by the first characters of a line, so start every item on a new line: on a computer press Shift + Enter for a new line instead of Enter, which would send the message.

A bulleted list starts with "- " (hyphen and space), a numbered list with "1. " (a number, a full stop and a space) and a quote with "> " (greater-than and space). Quotes are useful when you reply to a point from an earlier message or repeat a notice word for word.

1. 1.

   Bulleted list

   Hi {{name}}, please bring these for the school trip: - Water bottle - Tiffin - School ID card - Rs 200 for entry

   CopySend to your list
2. 2.

   Numbered list

   Dear {{name}}, steps to collect your certificate: 1. Visit the office between 10 am and 1 pm 2. Show your receipt 3. Sign the register

   CopySend to your list
3. 3.

   Quote

   > Office closed on 8 and 9 November for Diwali We reopen on Tuesday 10 November. Happy Diwali, {{name}}!

   CopySend to your list

How to change font style in WhatsApp on Android

Besides typing symbols, Android lets you style text from the selection menu, which is easier when you have already written the message.

1. 5

   Type your message

   Write the message in the chat box as usual, without any symbols.

2. 6

   Select the words

   Long-press a word until it is highlighted, then drag the handles to cover everything you want styled.

3. 7

   Open the full menu

   Tap the three dots (⋮) in the small menu that appears. On some phones the styles show directly.

4. 8

   Pick a style

   Choose Bold, Italic, Strikethrough or Monospace. WhatsApp adds the symbols for you.

How to change font style in WhatsApp on iPhone

1. 9

   Type and select

   Type your message, then double-tap a word to select it and drag the handles to select more.

2. 10

   Tap Format

   In the pop-up menu tap Format (shown as BIU on some iOS versions). Tap the arrow (›) if you don't see it at first.

3. 11

   Choose the style

   Pick Bold, Italic, Strikethrough or Monospace. The text changes straight away.

4. 12

   Send

   Send the message. For inline code, lists and quotes, type the symbols yourself; they are not in the menu.

How to change font style on WhatsApp Web and desktop

On WhatsApp Web and the Windows and Mac apps, typing the symbols is the most reliable method and works everywhere. Recent versions of the desktop apps also support keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl + B for bold and Ctrl + I for italic (Cmd on a Mac), but they can vary by version, so if a shortcut does nothing, just type the symbols.

Remember Shift + Enter for a new line. Plain Enter sends the message, which is how half-finished lists end up in chats.

How to combine WhatsApp font styles

You can stack styles by nesting the symbols. Put them in the same order on both sides, with the outer symbol first and last. Monospace and inline code do not combine with other styles: anything inside backticks shows as-is.

• Bold + italic: *_Very important_*

• Bold + strikethrough: *~Rs 1,499~*

• Italic + strikethrough: _~old timing~_

• Bold + italic + strikethrough: *_~cancelled~_*

• Bold inside a list item: - *Venue:* Community Hall, Sector 5

• Bold inside a quote: > *Last date:* 15 November

1. 1.

   Combined

   *_Reminder, {{name}}:_ parent-teacher meeting on Saturday, 10 am*. > Please bring the report card.

   CopySend to your list

How to change font size in WhatsApp

WhatsApp does not let you make one message bigger than another, but you can change how large all text looks on your own phone. This only changes your screen; the other person sees their own size.

1. 13

   Android: open Chats settings

   Open WhatsApp, tap the three dots (⋮), then Settings, then Chats.

2. 14

   Android: choose a font size

   Tap Font size and pick Small, Medium or Large. Only these three sizes are offered inside WhatsApp.

3. 15

   Android: go bigger with system settings

   For larger text than WhatsApp's Large, change your phone's font size in the phone's Settings, under Display or Accessibility. The names vary by brand.

4. 16

   iPhone: use the system text size

   WhatsApp on iPhone has no own font size setting. Go to iPhone Settings, Display & Brightness, Text Size (or Accessibility, Display & Text Size, Larger Text for bigger sizes), and WhatsApp follows it.

5. 17

   Web and desktop: zoom

   On WhatsApp Web press Ctrl + plus or Ctrl + minus (Cmd on a Mac) to zoom the whole page in or out.

Stylish fonts for WhatsApp name, about and status

The fancy letters you see in some people's WhatsApp names, like 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝔂𝓪 or 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚, are not a WhatsApp feature. They are special Unicode characters that look like styled letters. Because they are characters, not formatting, they work in places where *bold* symbols don't, such as your profile name, your About line, group names and status text.

The easy way to make them is our free stylish font generator: type your text once, see it in bold, script, gothic, small caps, circled and more, and copy the one you like into WhatsApp. For normal message formatting (bold, italic and the rest with a live preview), use the free WhatsApp text formatter instead.

• Bold: 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚

• Script (cursive): 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝔂𝓪 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓪

• Sans bold: 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘆𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮

• Gothic: 𝔓𝔯𝔦𝔶𝔞 𝔖𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔞

• Typewriter: 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚢𝚊 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚊

• Small caps: ᴘʀɪʏᴀ ꜱʜᴀʀᴍᴀ

1. 18

   Generate the text

   Open the stylish font generator, type your name or line, and tap Copy next to the style you like.

2. 19

   Change your name

   In WhatsApp go to Settings, tap your profile, tap your name, paste and save.

3. 20

   Change your About

   In the same profile screen tap About, paste the stylish text and save.

4. 21

   Use it in status

   Create a text status and paste the stylish line, or use it as a caption under a photo status.

Limitations to know before you style everything

• Only English letters and numbers change in Unicode fancy fonts. Hindi, Gujarati and other scripts stay as they are.

• Old phones and some older Android versions may show fancy Unicode letters as empty boxes or question marks.

• Screen readers used by blind and low-vision people often read fancy letters one by one or skip them, so keep important information in normal text.

• Fancy letters are not searchable: if your name is 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚, people searching their contacts for "Priya" may not find you.

• WhatsApp formatting symbols only work inside messages and some captions, not in your profile name.

• You cannot choose a different typeface (like Arial or a Hindi calligraphy font) for messages; WhatsApp uses your phone's system font.

• Too much bold reads like shouting. Bold one key detail per message, such as the date or the price.

How to send a formatted message to everyone with their name

Formatting is most useful in messages that go to many people, like a sale notice, a fee reminder or a school circular. Rapid Sender, a free browser tool for WhatsApp, sends one separate message to each person from your own WhatsApp, keeping your bold, italic and lists, with each person's name filled in from your Excel sheet.

1. 22

   Prepare your list

   Make an Excel or CSV sheet with name and phone columns, or type or paste the numbers. Up to 5,000 rows per upload, and numbers need not be saved in your phone.

2. 23

   Link your WhatsApp

   Open rapid-sender.com, then on your phone go to WhatsApp, Linked devices, Link a device and scan the QR code, or use the pairing code.

3. 24

   Write and format

   Type your message using *bold*, _italic_ and lists, and insert {{name}}. The live preview shows the formatting exactly as WhatsApp will, and warns you about typos.

4. 25

   Test, then send

   Send a test to yourself, then send to all or chosen contacts. A random 7 to 10 second pause between messages keeps it natural, and the live report shows sent and failed numbers.

Frequently asked questions