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WhatsApp Text Formatter
Type your message, style it with the toolbar, and see how it will look in a chat before you copy or send it.
Select text, then press a button or shortcut. Press it again to remove the style.
144 characters
Preview
ANNAAn approximation of WhatsApp’s rendering. Fonts, colours and support for the newer styles vary by device and app version.
WhatsApp formatting cheat sheet
| Style | Type | Shows as |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | *text* | text |
| Italic | _text_ | text |
| Strikethrough | ~text~ | |
| Monospace | ```text``` | text |
| Inline code | `text` | text |
| Bulleted list | * text or - text | • text |
| Numbered list | 1. text | 1. text |
| Quote | > text | text |
Markers must touch the text — *bold* works, * bold * doesn’t. Bold, italic, strikethrough and inline code stop at a line break, so wrap each line separately (the toolbar does this for you). Different styles can be combined, e.g. *_bold italic_*. Lists and quotes go at the start of a line, followed by a space.
Processed on your device — nothing is sent anywhere until you choose Send to WhatsApp.
Works in your browser. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write bold text in WhatsApp?
Put an asterisk on both sides of the text: *text* shows as bold. The same idea works for the other styles — _text_ for italic, ~text~ for strikethrough and ```text``` (three backticks) for monospace. WhatsApp’s own help page also describes a shortcut: select the text in the message box and choose Bold, Italic, Strikethrough or Inline code from the menu.
Which formatting does WhatsApp support?
WhatsApp’s Help Center lists eight: bold (*text*), italic (_text_), strikethrough (~text~), monospace (```text```), inline code (`text`), bulleted lists (* or - and a space at the start of a line), numbered lists (1. and a space) and quotes (> and a space). The same page notes that the new text formatting is only available on Web and Mac desktop, so on an app that doesn’t render a style the recipient sees the plain symbols instead.
Why isn’t my WhatsApp formatting working?
Usually a marker isn’t touching the text: *bold* works, but * bold * with spaces inside does not. A marker stuck to a letter on the outside is ignored too, which is why snake_case words and a*b*c stay plain. Bold, italic, strikethrough and inline code also stop at a line break, so a style has to be applied to each line separately — this tool’s toolbar does that for you. Finally, Markdown-style **double** markers are not WhatsApp syntax.
Can I combine bold and italic in one message?
Yes. Nest one style inside another with different markers, such as *_bold italic_* or ~*bold strikethrough*~. Select the text and press Bold, then Italic, and the toolbar builds the combination for you. Monospace and inline code are the exception: anything inside backticks is shown exactly as typed, so markers there are not formatted.
How do I get bold text in my WhatsApp name or About?
The formatting markers work in chat messages, but fields such as your name, your About or a group name show them as plain symbols. For those, switch to Unicode bold & italic: it swaps your letters for look-alike Unicode symbols such as 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 that paste anywhere. They are symbols rather than real formatting, so screen readers may read them letter by letter and search won’t match them to normal words — keep them short.
Is my message uploaded anywhere?
No. Formatting, the preview and the Unicode conversion all run in your browser. Your text only leaves the page if you press Send to WhatsApp, which opens a wa.me link with the message filled in and no phone number, so WhatsApp asks you which chat to send it to.
About this tool
WhatsApp has no formatting buttons in most places — instead it turns a few typed symbols into styles. This formatter lets you write a message with a word-processor-style toolbar and keyboard shortcuts, adds the right symbols for you, and shows a live chat-bubble preview of how the message will look once it is sent. When it is ready, copy it and paste it into any chat, or press Send to WhatsApp to open the app with the message already filled in.
The toolbar covers every style in WhatsApp’s official “How to format your messages” help page: *bold*, _italic_, ~strikethrough~, ```monospace```, `inline code`, bulleted lists that start with * or -, numbered lists that start with 1., and quotes that start with >. Pressing a button again removes the style, and selections that cover several lines are handled line by line, because bold, italic, strikethrough and inline code end at a line break. Monospace in triple backticks can span several lines, so it is wrapped once around the whole selection.
A few rules explain most formatting that fails. The symbols must touch the text, with no space between the marker and the first or last character. A marker glued to a letter on the outside is ignored, which keeps words like snake_case and links with underscores intact. Different styles nest, as in *_bold italic_*, but nothing inside backticks is formatted. The preview follows these rules, so if a word looks plain here it will very likely look plain in the chat too — though the exact look still depends on the recipient’s device and app version.
For places where WhatsApp shows the markers as plain symbols — your name, your About, a group name — the Unicode bold & italic mode converts letters to look-alike symbols from Unicode’s mathematical alphabets. Use them sparingly: screen readers may spell them out and search treats them as different characters. Everything on this page runs in your browser. ZumaTools is not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.