As one of the most usedinstant messaging appsin the world, WhatsApp needs to constantly keep revamping and refreshing its feature set, as rival messaging services like Telegram continue to stay on top of new and attractive additions. Back in July, we spotted the companytesting new chat filterson the homescreen, conveniently letting users switch betweenUnread,Personal,Business, andAllchats. A new beta version of the chat app is now renaming some of these filters, offering a better way of identifying group and individual chats.
The four filters we saw in the early July WhatsApp beta release are still there, but they have been renamed to offer more specificity on what they do. Interestingly, while theAllandUnreadfilters still remain,PersonalandBusinesshave been replaced byContactsandGroupsfilters.
These changes were spotted byWABetaInfoon the chat app’s latest beta for Android — v2.23.19.7 — although manually sideloading this particular version may not show these filters. The renaming of Personal to Contacts is crucial since the Personal filter combined both group and community chats, in addition to one-on-one conversations.
The removal of the Business filter is curious, though, and it’s unclear if it will ever make a comeback in a future release. WhatsApp’s updated filters aren’t live on my phone just yet, despite being on version 2.23.19.7. This suggests that the feature is still in its nascent stages of development.
WhatsApp’s initial implementation of chat filters (left); The newly tweaked chat filters (right)
Nevertheless, the new redesign of the chat filters seems more refined than the earlier implementation, and we hope it lands on the stable version soon. You can pick up WhatsApp beta version 2.23.19.7 from the Play Store or get it fromAPKMirrorand try your luck finding these newly updated chat filters.
While WhatsApp is long known to have played catch up to apps like Telegram, the previous Android beta (v2.23.19.6) revealed work on a Discord-stylegeneral group chat for communities, allowing people to interact about general topics without spamming other groups they’re on.
Communities is a relatively recent addition to WhatsApp and one that not everybody has fully understood yet. The company tried to change that byadding a new UIwith revised phrasing last month, encouraging users to try out the new supercharged group chat feature. It’s certainly a more dynamic way of staying in touch with your favorite groups, and thebundled privacy featuresensure the user’s personal information isn’t revealed to strangers within communities. This isn’t a groundbreaking feature by any means, but one that could put WhatsApp on equal footing with apps like Telegram and Discord.
