Why does my Markdown link not work?

WhatsApp has no link syntax. It detects URLs on its own and makes them tappable, so paste the address on its own and drop the brackets.

How do I underline text?

You cannot — WhatsApp has no underline. Bold or italic are the closest, and anything you type to force it will be sent as the literal characters.

Is there a length limit?

Two of them. The app accepts 65,536 characters; the WhatsApp Cloud API accepts 4,096 in a text message. This counts against both as you type.

Message formatter Free, no signup

See your WhatsApp formatting before you send it

WhatsApp is not Markdown — asterisks make bold here, not italics. Type on the left and watch a real chat bubble on the right, with warnings for anything WhatsApp will send as plain text.

WhatsApp message formatter

A made-up message, with one mistake to catch. Your own replaces it.

Your message

*bold* _italic_ ~strikethrough~ `code` ```block``` > quote * list 1. numbered

0 of 65536 characters in the app · 0 of 4096 for the Cloud API

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Chat preview

Start typing to see your message.

Measured contrast: 17.9:1 on your own bubble, 19.8:1 on theirs.

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What you actually get

The real grammar, not Markdown's

In WhatsApp *this* is bold and _this_ is italic — the opposite of Markdown. Tools built on a Markdown parser show you a preview that disagrees with the phone in your hand.

It warns about what will not work

WhatsApp has no escape character and no error. Headings, links and tables simply arrive as the characters you typed, and nothing tells you. This does.

Current colours, both themes

The preview uses the palette WhatsApp shipped with chat themes, not the retired one every other formatter still shows. Contrast ratios are printed below it.

Common questions

Why does my Markdown link not work?: WhatsApp has no link syntax. It detects URLs on its own and makes them tappable, so paste the address on its own and drop the brackets.
How do I underline text?: You cannot — WhatsApp has no underline. Bold or italic are the closest, and anything you type to force it will be sent as the literal characters.
Is there a length limit?: Two of them. The app accepts 65,536 characters; the WhatsApp Cloud API accepts 4,096 in a text message. This counts against both as you type.