WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, used by over 2 billion people worldwide. It allows you to send messages, photos, videos, documents and more to your contacts. While WhatsApp shows your most recent conversations, you may sometimes need to look up an older chat or media from a specific date.
Thankfully, WhatsApp makes it easy to jump directly to chats and media from a certain date. There are a couple of different ways to do it on both iPhone and Android devices.
On iPhone
Here are the steps to go to a specific date on WhatsApp for iPhone:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on the Chats tab if you aren’t already there.
- At the top left, tap on the WhatsApp logo.
- This will bring up the option to Search chats. Tap on it.
- In the Search bar that appears, type in the date you want to check out. The format should be DD/MM/YYYY (day/month/year).
- As you begin typing the date, WhatsApp will automatically populate suggestions for chats and media from that specific date.
- Simply tap on the suggestion you want to open chats, photos, videos etc. from that date.
That’s it! WhatsApp will immediately take you to the chosen date where you can scroll through all your chats and media from that particular day.
This makes it super easy to reminisce about past conversations, find an old photo you sent or check details in a chat from any date. The search function narrows it down to the exact day.
Things to note
- Make sure your iPhone’s date and time are set correctly for this feature to work properly.
- You need to have a chat from that particular date for it to show up in search results. If you didn’t chat with someone on that day, it won’t appear.
- Media will only appear in search if you sent or received them on the specified date.
On Android
The process is quite similar on Android devices:
- Open WhatsApp and go to your Chats tab.
- Tap on the 3-dot menu button at the top right.
- Select Search from the menu.
- Type in the date in DD/MM/YYYY format in the search bar.
- WhatsApp will now show suggestions for chats and media from that date.
- Tap the suggestion you want to open that date’s chats or media.
This will take you directly to the chosen date where you can browse chats and media files.
Things to note
- Make sure the date/time is set correctly on your Android device.
- You need to have chatted with someone or exchanged media on the specific date for it to appear in search.
- The date format is important! Use DD/MM/YYYY for day/month/year.
Finding dates in group chats
The steps above work great for finding one-on-one chats from a certain date. But what if you need to find an old message in a group conversation?
Unfortunately, WhatsApp doesn’t let you search for dates within groups yet. However, there is a workaround.
- Go to the group chat you want to search.
- Tap on the group subject at the top.
- This will open the Group Info screen. Here tap on Search.
- Type in the date in the Search bar to look for messages from that day.
While not as straightforward as searching all chats, this lets you at least find specific dates in WhatsApp groups.
How to find dates on WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp Web, the browser-based version for PC, also lets you search for dates:
- Open https://web.whatsapp.com in your browser and scan the QR code to link your account.
- On the left sidebar, click on the Search icon next to the chat tabs.
- Type in the date in DD/MM/YYYY format in the Search bar.
- You’ll now see chats and media from that date. Click on any result to open it.
This provides an easy way to search through your chat history by date on your computer.
How to search for dates in WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business accounts have access to some advanced analytics and metrics. You can also search for chats by date in WhatsApp Business:
- Open WhatsApp Business and tap on Search at the top.
- Enter the date in DD/MM/YYYY format in the Search bar.
- Tap on any of the suggestions that appear below to open chats from that date.
- You can also view analytics by sender to see messages per date.
Having searchable chat history makes customer interaction and analytics much easier in WhatsApp Business.
Conclusion
Here are some key points to summarize how to go to specific dates on WhatsApp:
- On iPhone, tap the WhatsApp logo in Chats and search for the date.
- On Android, tap the 3-dot menu button in Chats and select Search to enter the date.
- Use DD/MM/YYYY date format for accurate results.
- Make sure the date/time is set correctly on your device.
- You can only see chats and media from dates that have conversations.
- For group chats, search for dates under Group Info.
- It also works the same way on WhatsApp Web and Business.
Being able to quickly jump to chats from specific dates can be really useful. Whether you need to find an old message, media file, detail or memory, this makes searching your WhatsApp chat history a breeze. With over 2 billion users worldwide, there are certainly plenty of great conversations to look back on!
Searching by date is just one of many helpful features in WhatsApp. As the world’s most popular messaging app, WhatsApp is packed with useful functionality to improve your messaging experience. With regular updates adding new features, there’s always more to explore in WhatsApp.
Some other notable WhatsApp features include:
- Encrypted messaging for privacy
- Group chats with up to 256 participants
- Free voice and video calls
- Statuses for sharing quick updates
- Fun stickers and reactions to messages
- Media sharing with photos, videos, GIFs, documents
- Payments and shopping capabilities
- Third-party app integration and bots
WhatsApp has grown into much more than just simple messaging. It has become a platform to conveniently communicate, collaborate and connect with the important people in your life. And with helpful features like date search, it’s easier than ever to revisit conversations from the past.
Whether coordinating plans with friends, communicating with family across borders, collaborating with co-workers or reaching customers – WhatsApp makes staying in touch effortless. If you ever need to reference a past chat, media file or discussion, you can quickly look it up by date in just a few taps.
So the next time you need to find an old conversation, photo or details from a specific date, remember to use WhatsApp’s handy date search. It makes digging through your years of chat history incredibly simple. Just enter the date and let the nostalgia begin!