WhatsApp Is Testing Chat Filters for All Users: Report

WhatsApp is reportedly testing chat filters for all users. The feature, which provides an easy way to find certain chats, is currently exclusive to business accounts. The feature is currently in the beta testing stage and it is not clear when the feature will roll out for all users. WhatsApp has also started identifying "legal" names of users who have enabled the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based payments feature on its app.

According to WABetaInfo, the chat filters feature will roll out in a future update for Android, iOS, and desktop users. The feature will let users add some simple filters to quickly find certain chats. The search filters for chats are expected to include categories like searching by contacts, groups, non-contacts, and unread chats.

Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

“As you can see in this screenshot, the filter button is visible to business accounts when tapping the search bar on Desktop: thanks to this feature, WhatsApp is making it easier to search for unread chats, contacts, non-contacts, and groups. Standard WhatsApp accounts will also be able to use the same feature in a future update of the app, but there is another difference: the filter button will be always visible even when you are not searching for chats and messages,” the report said about the new feature.

The feature is only available on WhatsApp business accounts for now. The company has also introduced quick replies — predefined messages that can be used to answer common questions, and labels, that allow the WhatsApp Business users to organise chats and contacts, on WhatsApp business accounts.

As mentioned earlier, the chat filter is currently in the beta stage, and visible by users of the WhatsApp beta UWP 2.2216.40 app. It was spotted in the WhatsApp Desktop beta.

WhatsApp has also started identifying "legal" names of users who have enabled the UPI based payments feature on its app. These names, which are the ones associated with the bank accounts of the users and might be different from profile names on the messaging platform, will be shown to people who receive payments through WhatsApp. This is a result of UPI guidelines set by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that are aimed to prevent fraud, the Meta-owned instant messaging app said.