WhatsApp is testing a separate space for business chats, a simple fix for a problem that has gotten annoyingly familiar: business messages piling up next to personal chats. In the latest Android beta, the app is reportedly trying an automatic system that moves certain business threads out of the main inbox after 24 hours, giving users a cleaner chat list without deleting anything useful.
The idea is straightforward. If a conversation with a business account includes updates or offers, it would be shifted into a dedicated area that works a lot like Archived Chats. That keeps promotions accessible later, but stops them from crowding out the people you actually text.
How the WhatsApp business chats folder works
According to reports from WABetaInfo, the move happens automatically after a 24-hour period. That gives businesses a short window to deliver a message that matters, while limiting the endless drip of promotions that often makes messaging apps feel like email with read receipts.
- Business chats stay visible on the main screen for 24 hours.
- After that, qualifying threads are moved to a separate section.
- The section behaves similarly to Archived Chats, so messages are still there if you need them.
The timing makes sense. Messaging platforms have quietly become one of the main routes for marketing and telemarketing, replacing a lot of the old cold-call chaos with push notifications and coupon blasts. WhatsApp is trying to keep that commercial traffic from swallowing the app’s original purpose: personal conversation.
Business messaging is getting harder to ignore
The feature appears aimed at commercial accounts using cloud-based tools to automate large-scale messaging, especially the kind that can feel spammy once a user signs up for updates. It is a small change, but the direction is obvious: if WhatsApp wants to stay useful as both a consumer app and a business channel, it needs stronger boundaries between chat and commerce.
WhatsApp is also testing a redesign for its main landing page and working on clearer explanations for why unknown contacts sometimes appear in Status. The bigger question is whether this new business-chat system will stay buried in beta or become the default cleanup tool for everyone tired of promotional noise.