Guide · Meet Lía, your secretary on WhatsApp
WhatsApp reminders: four ways to set them and which one fits
There are four ways to get something back in front of you at the right time from WhatsApp: the reminder on a message, the chat with yourself, your phone’s own reminders, and a secretary inside the chat such as Meet Lía. Each solves a different problem, and each falls short somewhere. Here is the full comparison.
Updated October 13, 2026. WhatsApp changes features by version and by country: check what you see here against your own app. Meet Lía works best in Spanish today; English is in beta.
The quick comparison
| Way | Alerts you on time? | Repeats? | Good for | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “Remind me” on a message (a WhatsApp feature) | Yes, with a notification of the original message | No | Coming back to a message you can’t answer right now | It is a nudge about a message that already exists, not a free-form reminder. It has been rolling out by version and may not be in your app. |
| Chat with yourself | No: it is a record, not an alert | No | Quick notes, lists, links and photos | You depend on remembering to open it. |
| Your phone’s reminders or calendar | Yes | Yes | Reliable alerts that do not depend on WhatsApp | You have to leave WhatsApp to create them. |
| Meet Lía, your secretary on WhatsApp | Yes, in your own WhatsApp chat, once you confirm | Yes: daily, business days, weekly or monthly | Writing or dictating a to-do without leaving WhatsApp and having it scheduled | It only organizes your notes, tasks, reminders and appointments: it does not answer general questions. You create your space and connect WhatsApp first. |
Which one fits when
- If you only want to come back to a message: the reminder on a message is enough, if your version of WhatsApp has it.
- If you want to jot things down with no pressure: the chat with yourself works as a notepad, as long as you accept that it never rings at a set time.
- If you already live in your phone’s apps: its reminders and calendar are solid for fixed alerts.
- If your day runs through WhatsApp and you want to say “remind me” right there, with a voice note or a photo if you like, a secretary in the chat saves you the app switch. That is the case for Meet Lía.
What a reminder looks like with Lía
You write what you need, Lía shows what she understood, and you confirm. A reminder is not saved until you tap Confirm; if the time is missing, she asks. This is an illustrative example, translated from Lía’s Spanish replies (the buttons are only a preview):
- YouRemind me to call the garage tomorrow at 9 a.m.
- LíaReminder
Call the garage
🗓 Tomorrow, 9:00 a.m.
Colombia time
Tapping Confirm turns on alerts in this chat (quiet hours respected).
Shall I save it? Tap a button. Example buttons: Confirm, Discard or Help. - YouConfirm
- Lía✅ Reminder scheduled.
Call the garage
The alerts come to you, in your own chat.
Phrases you can copy
Write them the way they come out; Lía shows how she understood them before saving anything. Lía works best in Spanish today, so these are shown in both languages.
- Remind me to call the garage tomorrow at 9 a.m. (Recuérdame llamar al taller mañana a las 9 de la mañana.)
- Remind me to pay the rent on the 1st of every month. (Recuérdame pagar el arriendo el día 1 de cada mes.)
- Remind me to send the report every Monday at 8 a.m. (Recuérdame enviar el reporte todos los lunes a las 8 de la mañana.)
- Remind me to call my mom. (If you don’t say when, Lía asks for the time.)
- Lunch with Ana on Friday at noon. (An appointment: Lía shows the date and duration before saving it.)
What Lía does not do
- She does not answer general questions. She is a secretary for organizing tasks, reminders, appointments, notes and documents. If you write something else, she offers to save it as a note or remind you about it.
- She does not save tasks, reminders or appointments without your confirmation. Ideas and notes are saved right away, and she tells you what she saved.
- She does not replace your phone’s calendar if you prefer to keep everything there: they are different tools, and you can use both.
How to start
Create your space
Enter the portal on the Free plan, which costs nothing; paid plans are optional.
Connect WhatsApp
Do it from My account. After that you can write to Lía in that chat.
Tell her what to remember
Write or send a voice note, and confirm when Lía shows what she noted.
Your data: we do not sell it or use it for third-party advertising. Read the privacy policy (in Spanish).
Frequently asked questions
Can WhatsApp schedule a reminder on its own?
It depends on your version. Some versions have a “Remind me” nudge on a specific message, but not a free-form reminder with a date and repetition. The chat with yourself stores notes but does not alert you. For alerts at a set time you need an additional tool.
Do Meet Lía reminders reach another person?
No: they are reminders in your own chat. You schedule them and they alert you.
Can I set one that repeats?
Yes. Lía schedules one-time or recurring reminders (daily, business days, weekly or monthly). For a monthly repeat it helps to name the day, for example “on the 15th of every month at 9 am”.