WhatsApp testing new filter feature in messenger app

The new filter feature categorises the chats into three segments -- all, unread and group on WhatsApp.

With two billion-plus active users, WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app on all platforms such as iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. It has the best user-friendly interface and comes with several value-added features such as disappearing messages, and native editing tools for images, and recently, the company introduced the search-by-date feature.

However, the Meta-owned company faces stiff competition from Telegram and Signal. To keep people hooked to the app, WhatsApp has to bring new features regularly. Now, it is planning to bring a new value-added feature to improve the user experience.

The messenger app will soon get a new filter tab. It categorises the chats into three segments-- all, unread and group, WABetaInfo, a WhatsApp community blog reported citing the latest Android beta v2.23.14.17 update.

With the new three tab-filter (as shown in the screen-grab), WhatsApp is further simplifying the user interface.

WhatsApp's new filter feature.

Currently, WhatsApp has just two tabs at the top-- search and unread. To search for a group, the user has to scroll through the chat list to find one. Soon, this issue will be resolved.

The new filter feature is still under testing and WhatsApp is still seeking feedback from beta testers. It may take a few weeks to weed out any bugs and finally make it available to the public.

In a related development, WhatsApp is planning to increase the pinned message count from three to five.

And, recently, it introduced new text formatting options in the messenger app.

It includes a bulleted list, numbered list, block quote, and inline code. A bulleted list and numbered list come in handy with a list of pointers or a grocery list. And with a block quote, one can use it to quote a person. With inline code, users can share computer command lines with colleagues.

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