WhatsApp is working on the ability to search for messages by date

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 now.

Apple's iPhone displaying the home screen shortcuts menu for WhatsApp is being held in a male's hand in this featured image from Unsplash
WhatsApp is testing filtering search results by date Image: Dimitri Karastelev / Unsplash
  • What’s happening? Meta-owned WhatsApp has begun testing the ability to search your chats by date in the WhatsApp Beta for iOS, available via TestFlight.
  • Why care? This has been one of the top feature requests for years, and WhatsApp is finally bringing message search by date to the popular app.
  • What to do? Keep your eyes peeled as we’ll be making sure to let you know when this feature exits beta and gets rolled out to all WhatsApp users.

Meta will let you filter WhatsApp search results by date

You can easily search your WhatsApp chats for messages, photos, videos, links, GIFs, audio and documents. Simply pull down the chat list to reveal a hidden search field, then type out your desired keywords to start searching. What you can’t do is search chats by date to find a specific conversation within a custom time frame.

This may change soon because message search by date is now live for some users of the WhatsApp Beta, meaning this feature will be launching soon.

According to WABetaInfo, some WhatsApp Beta users have confirmed that they can now search across their chats by date. In the current build, this experience is the same as a regular search. You pull down on a chat to reveal the search field, then type your query to get some results. But now, there’s a new icon in the top-right corner of the keyboard that resembles a calendar with a magnifying glass.

Touching it reveals the date picker which lets you choose a specific date, like October 22, 2022. With the target date set, touch the Jump to Date button and WhatsApp will scroll the view to any messages with the matching date stamp.

How to test WhatsApp’s message search by date

If you use the WhatsApp Beta via Apple’s TestFlight software, you must update the app to version 22.24.0.77 to participate in this test. Note that this feature just began releasing in stages to the WhatsApp Beta users, meaning it will take a few weeks or months before it’s eventually ready for primer time.

Other WhatsApp features in the works

Meta has been rapidly developing new features as it looks to beat 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 voice notes on WhatsApp Status as well as an easy way to message yourself, amount other enhancements.