WhatsApp Tests 'Offers & Updates' Folder to Tame Spam

Your chat list has become a little too crowded. Promotional codes, shipping updates, and airline notices elbowing past messages from friends and family — sound familiar? WhatsApp is quietly testing a way to push those business-originated messages out of the main feed and into a separate space called 'Offers & Updates'.

Instead of letting every notification sit front and center, the app will automatically move messages sent by large businesses — think banks, airlines and major retailers — into that new folder after a short delay. WhatsApp is experimenting with different time windows, with test periods stretching up to 24 hours before the transfer happens.

The aim is simple: give personal chats some breathing room while still keeping promotional and transactional notices accessible. But the control model is intentionally limited. You can turn the feature off from Settings, but you cannot pick a custom delay — only the platform's preset timing or nothing at all.

For now, personal accounts and small-business chats are exempt. That means messages from your neighbor's startup or a local shop won’t be swept away — although the company may expand the rule to smaller businesses down the line, depending on how the trials shake out.

There are trade-offs. Clearing promos from the main list reduces clutter and helps you spot real conversations faster. Yet some users will worry about missing time-sensitive updates, like a boarding code or a bank alert, if those items are moved before they’re seen. That friction is likely why WhatsApp is testing multiple timing options rather than flipping a single switch.

If this lands broadly, expect a quick settings toggle and little else in terms of personalization. The approach favors a tidy inbox over granular control — a pragmatic choice for a platform with billions of users, but one that may frustrate people who want finer control over how their messages are handled.

Keep an eye on your app updates. And maybe glance at Settings once in a while — your most important messages might be taking a short detour to 'Offers & Updates.'