It’s a law of nature: the more people you have in a WhatsApp group, the harder it is to come to a decision. Even trying to decide on the best time for that WhatsApp voice call you’ve been meaning to have for weeks can lead to a mess of proposals and counterproposals that soon get lost off the top of the screen. You end up scrolling back through reams of messages trying to find the pertinent information. It can almost be enough to make you want to leave the WhatsApp group in a huff.
Thankfully, there is a way to come to a group decision without it becoming a stressful nightmare. WhatsApp allows you to quickly create a poll within a chat that all chat participants can vote on. Set your options, ask everyone to vote, and let democracy reign. If you’re ready to get your vote on, then here’s how to create a poll on WhatsApp.
How to create a WhatsApp poll on mobile
Android and iOS users are different breeds, and most are staunchly loyal to their OS of choice. Since each OS works a little differently (iOS has never had a back button, for example) the layout and design of the WhatsApp mobile app is a little different on each operating system. However, the basic steps to set up a poll are the same.
- In the WhatsApp chat where you want to create a poll, click the Attach icon (a paper clip on Android, or a plus symbol on iOS).
- Select Poll.
- Enter your poll question in the Question field.
- Enter the options that people can vote for in the Options field.
- If you enter two options, more spaces will appear to add further options, up to a maximum of 12.
- You can rearrange the order of the options by dragging the icon at the end of each row up or down.
- Decide whether you want to let people vote for more than one option. If you don’t, toggle Allow Multiple Answers off.
- Once your poll is complete, tap Send on iOS or the Send icon on Android.
- The poll is added to the chat and chat members can tap on any option to vote.
- If you tap the wrong option or change your mind, tapping the option you already voted for will remove your vote.
- If you set Allow Multiple Answers on, people can select as many options as they wish.
- To see which people voted for which options, tap View Votes beneath the poll.
How to create a WhatsApp poll on desktop
If typing your WhatsApp messages on your phone keyboard isn’t your thing, you can also use the desktop app or WhatsApp Web and luxuriate in the use of a full size keyboard. This can be quite useful if you’ve got a lot of options to enter, and you don’t want to have to tap them out on your phone keyboard.
You set up polls in the desktop app much in the same way on your phone. These steps will also work if you’re using WhatsApp in a browser with WhatsApp Web.
- Select the chat or group where you want to create a poll.
- Click the Paper Clip followed by the Poll icon that looks like a bar chart.
- Fill in your poll question in the Question field.
- And your vote options in the Options field.
- If you enter more than two options, further options fields will appear. You can have up to 12 options.
- Click on the four bars icon at the right of each option to rearrange the order.
- If you don’t want to allow people to vote for more than one option, toggle Allow Multiple Answers off.
- Click the Send icon and the poll is created.
- Members of the chat can vote by clicking on an option. If you allowed multiple answers, they can vote for as many options as they wish.
- Clicking an option again will remove your vote from that option.
- To see who has voted for which options, click View Votes beneath the poll.
WhatsApp tips and tricks
Do you wish you’d known about WhatsApp polls sooner? I know I do. It’s a great feature that can quickly put any arguments to bed by letting the majority decide. Whether everyone abides by that decision is a whole new can of worms.
If you loved this tip, then check out these other secret WhatsApp tips and tricks that you might not know about. You may just discover your new favourite WhatsApp feature.
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