WhatsApp adds a search shortcut to yet another section of its app

It really wants to make it easy to find older messages using keywords

Most messengers have a built-in search button for finding specific messages within private and group conversations. WhatsApp is no different. The company has offered this feature for ages and even has an option to search for queries across all chats. The latest reports suggest that the Meta-owned messenger is now adding its search button to yet another place within the app for an even better experience.

The new search message shortcut was spotted on WhatsApp beta version 2.22.6.3 by the folks at WABetaInfo. According to them, users will be able to make searches straight from the info page of personal contacts and group chats. Currently, the feature is only rolling out for some testers. But even for those that get it, the report notes that the search button fails to appear sometimes. That shouldn’t come as a surprise since it’s a beta after all. That said, there’s no information on when the new search shortcut will arrive on the stable channel, but it hopefully shouldn’t be too long.

Right now, you can already search messages in an individual chat by tapping the three-dot menu in the top right corner and hitting Search. It's also possible to make a global search for keywords within all of your conversations using the magnifier icon in the top right when in the Chats list.

WhatsApp has been working on a host of features to enhance the user experience. The messenger recently improved the archaic, unrefined method for sharing uncompressed media files by introducing proper previews when images and videos are shared as documents. Earlier this month, the app got a long-overdue revamped voice call interface with a rounded gray rectangular background showing your contact's name, number, and profile picture, as well as the call duration on top.

We’ve also been expecting WhatsApp to get message reactions, ever since we saw previews of how they would look on smartphones — we now even have an idea of how they would be implemented on WhatsApp Web and the desktop app. Once it arrives, users will be able to react to messages using only about six emoji, compared to other Meta-owned apps like Instagram and Facebook that allow reacting with any emoji of choice.

Many of these additions are still in development, but it's only a matter of time before users can fully start taking advantage of them.

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