WhatsApp is a powerful end-to-end encrypted messaging app with many useful features. However, its functionality falls short in one area: sending a message to an unsaved number or contact. Usually, you need to add a contact to the WhatsApp app before you can chat, which can cause problems if you need to send an urgent message.

However, you can use a couple of handy workarounds to overcome this problem. While they require some work to set up, they can help you message others in a flash and also help others message you. Whether you have an Android phone or a budget Chromebook, you can use these tools to send a quick and easy message to others without saving a contact. These methods work for iOS and Android devices but don't work for sending messages to a WhatsApp group chat.

WhatsApp's custom wa.me links allows people to message you with a click. They're usually found in e-commerce stores and websites, but you can use them to send an instant WhatsApp chat message by modifying a link. Here's how to do it:

For the following examples, replace phonenumber with the recipient's country code and WhatsApp number. Do not add any other symbols like dashes, brackets, or plus. For example, a U.K. phone number (Country code +44) would look like this: 441234567890.

  1. Enter https://wa.me/phonenumber in the address bar of a web browser on your phone or computer.
  2. Click Continue to chat to open WhatsApp on your phone or computer.
  3. Send your message in the chat window.

If the phone number isn't registered on WhatsApp, the app notifies you with a pop-up message.

We recommend making a bookmark of that link for ease of use in the future. Sending a message this way doesn't add the recipient to your contacts list.

Some Android skins like MIUI and OxygenOS allow you to run multiple instances of messaging apps like WhatsApp to let you use two accounts simultaneously. If you set up a second WhatsApp instance, the browser asks you to pick one of the two WhatsApp accounts after the third step, as shown above. Everything after that remains unchanged.

Even though WhatsApp's official solution is straightforward, not everyone is comfortable tweaking URLs. Alternatively, you can use a third-party app to create the links for you automatically.

Left: WhtzDirect, Right: Click to chat

WhtzDirect and Click to Chat are the easiest apps to create WhatsApp links. Enter the phone number, make sure the country code is correct, and start chatting on WhatsApp. The best part is that both apps are free and don't show ads or ask for device permissions.

To use these apps, open them and enter the WhatsApp phone number of the recipient and your message.

However, if you don't plan on sending WhatsApp messages to unsaved contacts frequently, you can use websites like whats-app-dialer.com and whapp.contact. These save you from fiddling with a URL

screenshot of whats app dialer website

whats-app-dialer.com

Send WhatsApp messages with ease

These methods mean you can quickly send a WhatsApp message to an unsaved phone number, making it an actual instant messaging app. Whether you use one of the shortcut apps or the official URL creator, the result is the same.

WhatsApp is a great chat app, but sometimes you need an RCS or SMS messaging app. We recommend Google Messages as it's packed with useful features.