WhatsApp has let us search for messages within a conversation for years, although it requires us to go into the chat info. Now, the app is preparing a small, but very practical change: a shortcut to search within the chat itself. A welcome improvement, that’s welcome.
Searching for a message will be much faster
As WABetaInfo has discovered in the iOS 26.31.10.70 beta available through TestFlight, WhatsApp is preparing a search button that will appear in the lower right corner when we scroll up to see older messages. It seems like a minor detail, but the button will appear just when we might actually need it, much like the button that takes us straight back to the most recent message.
When we return to the end of the conversation, the search button and the one that takes us there will disappear. The search will offer the same results as the current tool, but access will be much more direct.
A small improvement that makes search much more useful
We have several tricks for locating specific messages, but with this new access, finding that phrase, link, or piece of information will be much more natural. While it’s easy to call it a first-world problem, it’s true that perhaps too often we try to locate a specific message simply by scrolling up through the conversation.
Accompanied by the usual “wow, was it that long ago?” remark, which finally leads us to use search, it’s clear that now the interaction will be much more direct. The feature remains in development and will arrive in a future TestFlight update before its general release.
