How it Works: When you install WhatsApp and grant it permission to access your phone's contacts, WhatsApp scans your phone's address book. It then cross-references the phone numbers in your address book with its database of registered WhatsApp users.
Automatic Populating: Any number in your phone's address book that is also registered on WhatsApp will automatically appear in your WhatsApp "Contacts" tab (or within the general chat list when you start a new chat). You don't manually "add" them to WhatsApp; you add them to your phone's contacts.
What you see: In WhatsApp, you'll see the name you've saved for that contact in your phone, along with their WhatsApp profile picture and status message (if they've whatsapp number list set one and their privacy settings allow you to see it).
Privacy: WhatsApp only shows you contacts from your phone book who are also on WhatsApp. It does not share your entire phone book with others.
In essence, your "WhatsApp contact list" is a filtered view of your phone's address book, showing only those who use WhatsApp.
WhatsApp (like many messaging apps) often has an internal, dynamically generated list of contacts you interact with most frequently.
How it Works: This list is usually managed by the app's algorithms. It's not something you manually create or edit. It's designed to make it quicker for you to start new chats with people you talk to often.
Where you might see it: When you go to start a new chat, you might see a "Frequently contacted" section at the top of your contact list.
Purpose: Purely for user convenience within the app.
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