How to Reply to a Specific Message on WhatsApp

Reply on WhatsApp to a Specific Message

Need to reply to a specific message way up in a group chat? Want to quote in your message for clarity? Find out here how to reply to a specific message in WhatsApp (using iOS, Android, and the web).

First, Heisenbergian Uncertainty is Everywhere

Heisenberg uncertainty is everywhere, and you never know exactly where you might run into it.

Take the Ferrari 458, for example. Proudly displayed on its dashboard is either your current speed or your current position on a map—never both at the same time.

In WhatsApp, by welcome contrast, you can have others in a chat see your answer to a specific message and that very message as a quotation—at practically the same time:

How to Reply to a Specific Message on WhatsApp (iPhone and Android)

Time needed: 1 minute

To reply to a message specifically so the individual message is quoted in your text with WhatsApp on a mobile device using iOS or Android:

  1. Open the conversation that includes the message to which you want to reply.

  2. Tap and hold the message you want to quote.

  3. Select Reply from the menu that has appeared.

    Reveal the Reply button: You may have to tap ··· More or the rightward-pointing triangle (▶︎) to see Reply in the menu.
    Select "Reply" to respond to a specific message in WhatsApp

  4. Write your answer beneath the quoted text.

  5. Tap the paper airplane “send” button.

    Tap "send" in WhatsApp to send your reply

How to Send a Reply to a Specific Message (WhatsApp Web)

To quote a message and reply to it specifically in a conversation or group chat using WhatsApp Web:

  1. Position the mouse cursor over the message to which you want to reply.
  2. Click the downward-pointed caret () that has appeared inside the message.
  3. Select Reply from the menu that has appeared.
  4. Type your answer in the message field beneath the quoted text.
  5. Click the paper airplane (send) button.
    WhatsApp Web keyboard shortcuts: Press Enter to send and Shift Enter to start a new line.

How to Reply to a Specific Message in WhatsApp: FAQ

Can I reply to a reply?

Yes.

When you respond to a message that is itself a reply, only the message you are directly answering will be quoted, not the original message.

Can I find the message to which somebody replied in WhatsApp?

Yes.

To jump to the original, quoted message from a reply:

  • Tap (in WhatsApp for iOS and Android) or click (in WhatsApp Web) the quoted part of a reply.

(How to reply to a specific message tested with WhatsApp 2.23–2.24 and WhatsApp Web; updated February 2024)

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