WhatsApp for iPhone is getting a search bar at the top of the settings interface that lets you quickly filter through the available toggles and options in the app.
- What’s happening? WhatsApp is testing the search bar in the settings interface.
- Why care? The search feature will make it easy to quickly find a specific setting from all the available settings in the app.
- What to do? This feature has been released to some WhatsApp beta users. You will need to wait until it reaches all users in a future app update.
Whatsapp settings search is in development
According to WABetaInfo, the settings interface search bar is currently being rolled out for some beta users. It works the way you would expect. Instead of scrolling and navigating through the root list and subsections of WhatsApp settings, you simply type a few letters into the search bar at the top to filter the options.
A few years ago, Apple implemented a similar search feature for its Settings app on iOS and iPadOS, and more recently on macOS. That being said, however, it’s not every day that you see settings filtering available in a third-party app like WhatsApp.
In any case, having a search bar in WhatsApp settings will save time for people who often change their WhatsApp settings. As WABetaInfo points out, this will also be useful for users with disabilities who can easily find what they are looking for.
When will search customization become available to all users?
This feature is currently limited to WhatsApp 23.4.0 beta versions. Meta will likely continue to work on this feature in future beta updates. When Settings Search is ready to go live during prime time, it will be available to all users through a future WhatsApp update.
The beta version of WhatsApp is available for testing with the Apple TestFlight software. All seats have already been filled, so new beta users cannot be accepted at this stage.
Other new and upcoming features
The Meta-owned app recently launched support for picture-in-picture video calling, drag and drop on iPhone, and several new features designed to improve the use of the Status feature. In addition, several new WhatsApp features are being tested, including audio transcription and call scheduling.