WhatsApp iOS Beta Introduces In-Chat Search Button

WhatsApp’s newest iOS beta version—distributed via Apple’s TestFlight platform—introduces a new in-chat search button. The feature does not appear permanently but activates only when users scroll upward through a conversation’s message history.

How the search button functions

The button emerges in the bottom-right corner of the screen during upward scrolling, mirroring the behavior of the existing “jump to last message” button. It remains visible only while users navigate older messages and disappears once they return to the most recent part of the chat.

According to 9to5mac, WhatsApp currently offers two primary methods for searching past messages: one from the main chat list—which scans all conversations—and another from the individual chat info screen—which restricts results to that specific thread. The new button aims to streamline the latter by enabling direct access to intra-conversation search without leaving the chat interface.

Search functionality and rollout status

WABetaInfo reports that the in-chat search tool delivers identical results to those currently available in the chat info screen. Its intended benefit is operational efficiency: users no longer need to exit the active conversation to initiate a search.

The feature is not yet enabled for all TestFlight testers. As confirmed by WABetaInfo, it remains under active development and is expected to roll out in a subsequent TestFlight update prior to inclusion in the official public release.