Need x² in a chat today?
Quick answer: WhatsApp will not raise a normal 2. For superscript in WhatsApp, copy ² from the raised-numbers page, paste into the box, and send.
Why the phone keyboard will not help
There is no *raise* toggle next to bold and italic. If you format a 2 in Word, then paste the sentence here, the 2 usually drops back. The chat only keeps a real Unicode glyph such as ² (U+00B2).
On Android or iPhone: copy from this page, long-press the message box, tap Paste, send. On WhatsApp Web: Ctrl + V or Cmd + V. Current apps on both phones and desktop keep the raised mark after send.
Status captions and broadcast lists behave the same as a 1:1 chat: they store the character, not a Word style. Groups do too. If someone on a very old phone sees a box, their font pack is missing ² — they still received the right code point.
Units people actually send: 25 m², 10 cm³, “see note ¹”. Type those on the converter if you need a longer line than the buttons. Formula mode keeps the letters normal and only lifts the digits, which is what you want for m2 → m².
Do not use *2* or ^2 and hope the app will raise it. WhatsApp markdown is bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace. None of those make an exponent.
iPhone users sometimes hunt the ² key on the number pad. It is not there on a stock English keyboard. Android Gboard can surface ² if you long-press 2 on some languages — if your keyboard does that, use it. If it does not, the paste page is faster than installing a new layout.
Raised digits vs lowered chemistry
Footnote ¹ and unit m² belong here. Water and CO₂ use lowered digits — different page, different code points. Extra single characters: raised numbers to paste.
After one paste
That is superscript in WhatsApp in practice: copy a Unicode mark, paste, send. For any exponent, use the superscript generator.