WhatsApp rolls out chat filters on iOS, Android: What it is, how it works

Meta-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp said that chat filters will allow users to find unread messages and groups without having to scroll through the entire inbox

WhatsApp is rolling out chat filters to make it easier for instant messaging platform users to find the conversation they are looking for without having to scroll through the entire inbox.

Meta-owned instant messaging platform said that chat filters will allow users to find unread messages and groups fast, without having to scroll through the entire inbox. The feature is now rolling in a graded manner on all platforms, including the smartphone app for Android and iOS devices.

With chat filters on WhatsApp, users can choose between three filters that appear at the top of the inbox. These filters comprise all, unread, and groups. Below are the details:

All: Taping on “All” will provide the default view of all messages

Unread: Selecting the “Unread” filter only shows messages that are either marked as unread or have not been opened by the user yet. This filter allows prioritising responses and groups all the messages together that the user might want to respond to.

Groups: The “Group” filter organises all group chats from the inbox in one place, making it easier to find a WhatsApp group among individual conversations. This filter will also show subgroups of Communities that the user is part of.

These chat filters are new to the platform. The instant messaging platform also has a search option that allows users to search a chat by date filter. The feature has been available on iOS devices and rolled out on Android earlier this year. Using this filter within chats, users can select a date and skip to all messages sent from that date onwards. The feature is not limited to searching for chats but also shows media, links and documents shared on a specific date.