WhatsApp Introduces New Search by Date Feature for Messages

WhatsApp, Meta’s popular messaging platform, has unveiled a new feature that enhances the app’s search capabilities. This latest addition allows users to search for messages based on specific dates, in an attempt to offer users a more efficient way to navigate through extensive chat histories. The new ‘Search by Date’ feature allows users to choose a specific date to find the messages exchanged on those particular days. It is likely to help users retrieve specific information from past conversations more smoothly as opposed to endless scrolling.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the feature on his WhatsApp channel. The ‘Search by Date’ feature is said to be available for all users globally across Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Web. It was reportedly spotted in beta testing back in November 2023.

To use the ‘Search by Date’ feature on WhatsApp, users need to open the desired individual or group chat that they wish to search. They have to then click on the three dots in the top right corner on Android phones or tap the contact or group name on iOS devices. If the app is updated to the latest available version, they can find a small calendar with a search symbol after they click the regular Search option. A pop-up calendar will then allow users to select the desired date.

For instance, if they want to go back to a message from October 20, 2023, they can select the same on the pop-up calendar by date, month, and year. Once the date is selected, the chat or group will open directly to messages from that day, allowing users to also scroll up or down the chat as well. Without this feature, users would have been forced to scroll past months’ worth of messages to get to the desired texts. With this feature, it just takes a few clicks.

WhatsApp recently also rolled out four new text formatting options globally – bulleted points, numbered lists, block quotes and inline quotes. These joined the existing bold, italic, strikethrough, and monospace formatting options.