Summary
WhatsApp beta users are seeing the return of chat filters, this time with only three options – All, Unread, and Groups.
Only a few beta testers currently have access to the filters feature, but wider availability is expected in the next few weeks.
WhatsApp is separately testing the ability to pin up to five conversations to the top of the chat list while also taking steps to protect user privacy by blocking screenshots of profile pictures.
As one of our favorite messaging apps today, we keep a close eye on the changes coming to WhatsApp. Beta versions often give us a good idea about what’s to come from future releases. However, not every beta feature makes it to the stable version. We figured the same fate would befall chat filters, which first surfaced in July last year, offering onscreen buttons above the chat list to sort conversations. We haven’t heard much about it since then, apart from a follow-up beta release in September, leading us to believe that it’s gone for good. But that doesn’t appear to be the case with WhatsApp developers rolling out these filters again in the app’s latest beta for Android.
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This resurrected version of chat filters was found within WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.24.6.16 by WABetaInfo. WhatsApp has seemingly given up on having four pill-shaped buttons, with the latest implementation featuring only three — All, Unread, and Groups.
The filters will be set to All by default, displaying the latest chats first, while Unread and Groups perform fairly self-explanatory functions. By contrast, the aforementioned July 2023 beta release offered Personal and Business filters but didn’t have one for groups, although a subsequent beta in September also contained a Groups option in addition to Contacts.
WABetaInfo says this feature is currently available to a limited number of beta testers, but wider availability will commence in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, similar filters are also being tested within WhatsApp Web, and a beta last month highlighted the inclusion of a Favorites filter for your most beloved contacts. This, coupled with the revamped chat filters on WhatsApp for Android, suggests that filters might be here to stay.
In a similar user-focused addition to WhatsApp, the app maker is also testing the ability to pin up to five chats, up from the previous limit of three. This is a significant upgrade for WhatsApp users as the app hasn’t increased the limit of pinnable chats since debuting the feature back in 2017. We’ve also learned this week about the additional steps WhatsApp will take to protect user privacy by blocking users from capturing screenshots of their contacts’ profile pictures.