Meta is testing the ability to search WhatsApp messages by date in its iPhone app, a feature many users have been asking for for years.
- What is happening? WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has begun testing the ability to search your chats by date in the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS, available through TestFlight.
- Why care? It has been one of the most popular searches for years and WhatsApp has finally added search by date to the popular app.
- What to do? Stay tuned as we will be sure to let you know when this feature leaves beta and becomes available to all WhatsApp users.
Meta will allow you to filter WhatsApp search results by date
You can easily search WhatsApp chats for messages, photos, videos, links, GIFs, audios, and documents. Simply drag down the list of chats to reveal the hidden search box, then enter your desired keywords to start searching. What you can’t do is search chats by date to find a specific conversation within a given time period.
This may change soon because searching for messages by date is now available for some WhatsApp beta users, meaning the feature will be rolling out soon.
According to WABetaInfo, some WhatsApp beta users have confirmed that they can now search their chats by date. In the current build, this experience is similar to a regular search. You drop the chat to open a search box, then type in your query to get some results. But now there’s a new icon in the top right corner of the keyboard that looks like a calendar with a magnifying glass.
Touching it opens a date picker that allows you to select a specific date, such as October 22, 2022. Once you’ve set your target date, click the Go To Date button and WhatsApp will scroll the view to any messages with a matching date stamp.
How to Test Search WhatsApp Messages by Date
If you are using the beta version of WhatsApp through the Apple TestFlight software, you will need to update the app to version 22.24.0.77 in order to participate in this test. Please note that this feature has just begun rolling out to WhatsApp Beta users in a phased manner, meaning it will take weeks or months before it is finally ready to go live.
More WhatsApp features in development
Meta is rapidly developing new features in an effort to surpass Apple’s iMessage, which remains the most used messaging platform in the United States. Some of the upcoming new features include the ability to share WhatsApp status voice notes, as well as an easy way to send messages to yourself and a number of other improvements.