Forward a voice message on iPhone
- Open the chat with the voice message.
- Press and hold the voice message until the menu appears.
- Tap Forward. The voice message is now ticked. Tick more messages if you want to send several.
- Tap the arrow at the bottom left, choose one or more chats and tap Send.
The recipient gets the voice message with the label "Forwarded" and can play it like any other voice note.
Forward a voice message on Android
- Open the chat and press and hold the voice message until it is highlighted.
- Tap other messages to select them as well.
- Tap the arrow pointing right at the top of the screen.
- Choose the chats and tap the green send button.
On Samsung, Xiaomi and other Android phones the steps are the same. Only the position of the icons can differ slightly between app versions.
Forward photos and videos
Photos work the same way: press and hold the photo in the chat, tap Forward, pick the chat and send. To forward several photos, select them one by one after the first press and hold. When someone sent an album, you can also open a photo and use the forward arrow in the full screen view.
On WhatsApp Web and the desktop app, hover over the photo or voice message, click the small arrow or menu and choose Forward. You can also drag a photo from your computer into a chat, but that sends it as a new photo, not as a forward.
What you can and cannot forward
Keeping the original photo quality
WhatsApp compresses photos to save data. If the receiver needs the full quality, for example a coworker who has to read a type plate, a meter or the small print on a document, ask the sender to choose HD before sending, or to send the photo as a Document through the attach menu. A forward passes on the file as you received it; it cannot add back quality that was lost when it was first sent.
Why the "Forwarded" label is there
WhatsApp marks every forward so the recipient knows the content did not come from the sender originally. For text you can avoid the label by copying and pasting. For voice messages, photos and videos that is not possible: the label stays. If you forward from your business phone to a coworker, the coworker also sees that it was forwarded, not who sent it originally.
Customer voice notes and job photos at work
In many small businesses customers explain their problem in a voice note and send two or three photos: the leak under the sink, the dent in the door, the broken lock. The owner then forwards everything by hand to the technician or the workshop, often in the evening and often too late. The technician answers the owner, who passes the answer on to the customer.
InBetween takes that step away. You connect your existing WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business number by QR code or pairing code, the same way you connect WhatsApp Web. Every customer message, including photos, voice notes, locations and documents, is forwarded automatically to the coworker handling that customer. The coworker replies in their own WhatsApp, and the customer receives the reply from your business number. The coworker sees "Customer 1", "Customer 2" instead of phone numbers, unless you choose to show them. With Pause you stop forwarding temporarily, for example after working hours.
Forward customer messages automatically. Replies go back from your number.
Try free for 30 daysHonest limits: InBetween is not an official Meta integration. It uses the same linked-device technology as WhatsApp Web, each conversation goes to one coworker at a time, and the app dashboard is currently only in Dutch. More on the full flow in automatically forward WhatsApp messages to a coworker.
When forwarding by hand is enough
If you only pass on a voice note now and then, the free forward option in WhatsApp is all you need. Automatic forwarding is worth it when it happens every day, when someone else does the work, or when you keep missing messages because you are on site yourself.
| Content | Can you forward it? | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Voice message | Yes | Shows the "Forwarded" label; the label cannot be removed |
| Photo or video | Yes, also several at once | Check the caption before sending and edit or remove it if needed |
| View once photo, video or voice message | No | WhatsApp blocks forwarding, saving and sharing of view once media |
| Message forwarded many times | Yes, to one chat at a time | Shown with a double arrow ("Forwarded many times") |
| Location | Yes, a sent location | For a live location, ask the sender to share it with that person directly |
| Document or PDF | Yes | Sent as the original file |
Frequently asked questions
Why can I not forward a voice message?
The most common reason is that it was sent as view once, which WhatsApp does not allow to be forwarded. Otherwise update WhatsApp and make sure the voice message has fully downloaded.
Does the other person see who recorded the voice message?
No. A forwarded voice message shows the "Forwarded" label but not the original sender. With InBetween the coworker sees "Customer 1", "Customer 2", without the phone number unless you enable it.
Can photos and voice notes from customers be forwarded automatically?
Not with WhatsApp alone. With InBetween every customer message on your business number, photos and voice notes included, is forwarded automatically to your coworker.
How much does it cost?
New accounts get 30 days of Pro+ free without a card. After that you can stay on free Basic (25 customer messages per month), or choose Pro at €87 per month (2,000 messages) or Pro+ at €142 per month (unlimited). Cancel monthly.