If WhatsApp has been your main messaging app for years, your chats are probably heaving with dusty old texts. Between the check-ins with your mum, group chats devoted to nights out and after-work drinks, and the non-stop banter with your mates, your inbox can quickly turn into a tangled mess.
The clutter hasn't gone unnoticed by Meta. Earlier this year, the tech giant released chat filters for WhatsApp to help you find your messages faster. Located at the top of your inbox, these unassuming buttons let you dig up unread texts, favourites and group chats with a tap.
Now, Meta is making the feature more interactive by letting you create your own custom lists, which will appear next to the pre-set filters. For instance, you could plop all your colleagues into a work list or separate messages from friends and family.
In essence, the feature feels a lot like the lists you can create on social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to help you keep track of posts from accounts you follow.
“Lists help you focus on the conversations that are most important, when you need them,” Meta said in a blog post.
WhatsApp says the update is rolling out today and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
How to create custom lists on WhatsApp
To use the new feature, tap the plus icon at the top of your chats tab and choose “lists” and “new list”.
Now, name your custom list and press the plus icon to add people or groups to it.
When you’re done, tap “create list” and it will appear at the end of the WhatsApp filters bar.
As you add more lists, you’ll be able to swipe on the screen to locate their filters.
Tapping on a custom list will only show you the messages from the people in it.
You can edit a list at any time by long-pressing it and adding or removing people or groups.
By default, WhatsApp will still open to the “all” category, which shows you all of your texts in chronological order.
