WhatsApp launches ‘Lists’ in UAE: What the new feature offers

Messaging platform WhatsApp has launched the ‘Lists’ feature for its UAE users today.

With this feature, WhatsApp users can filter their chats into custom categories of their choice. Lists can be created for families, work colleagues, friends, or even neighborhoods, helping users focus on those that are most important when needed.

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The lists can be created and edited by tapping the + in the filter bar at the top of your Chats tab, or edited by long-pressing a list.

Similar to ‘Favorites’, users can add both groups and one-on-one chats to a list, and any list they create will appear in the filter bar.

The lists feature was rolled out by the entity on October 31, 2024, to help its users focus more on the people and conversations that matter most to them.

Default Lists

There are four default lists available for users. They are as follows:

• All: The default view of all the user’s messages.
• Unread: This category contains chats with messages that are marked as unread or haven’t been opened yet.
• Favorites: This contains chats from the user’s favorite contacts.
• Groups: This category contains all the user’s group chats in one place.

Lists Feature: The functioning explained

When selected, lists are highlighted in green. The lists remain applied until users change the filter view or exit and reopen WhatsApp.

However, it should be noted that chats cannot be reorganized within the All, Unread, or Groups categories. The contacts added as favorites appear in the Chats tab, the Favorites list, and the Calls tab under Favorites.

Custom lists can be created to organize chats into separate, accessible categories.

A detailed process of how this feature can be used for both iOS and Android devices has been explained here

It was in January this year that the world’s biggest messaging platform kicked off the new year with a suite of features and design updates aimed at enhancing user experience.

The updates – revealed by WhatsApp’s owner Meta – included creative camera effects, personalized selfie stickers, and improved message reactions, with a focus on making the platform more engaging and intuitive.