According to an announcement from WhatsApp on Tuesday, the app is about to become even more useful for those who use it as more than just a messaging platform. With new chat filters, users can now easily access different types of messages in their inbox, including All, Unread, and Groups.
The default filter, “All,” shows an unfiltered version of your inbox. However, the “Unread” filter is particularly helpful for catching up on messages you may have missed and clearing out those pesky unread chat notifications.
It’s worth noting that WhatsApp did previously have a way to view unread messages through a filter in the search bar. However, the addition of these filter bubbles at the top of the chat screen makes it even more convenient to access this option.
As Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, explains, the “Groups” filter was highly requested by users for quicker navigation through group chats. This filter also includes conversations in subgroups within Communities, WhatsApp’s group discussion feature.
Fans of Gmail may find these filter bubbles familiar, as the popular email service introduced a similar feature in 2020 to simplify search.
But this first batch of filters may just be the beginning. According to several reports from WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has been testing other filters such as “Contacts,” for filtering messages from unknown individuals and businesses, and “Favorites,” for marking frequently used contacts. Some beta versions of the app have even shown the possibility of custom chat filters.
The good news is that WhatsApp has already started rolling out the filter option today, with plans to make it available to all users in the coming weeks. So, stay tuned for even more organization and simplicity within your WhatsApp inbox.
