WhatsApp tests folder to sort messages from large businesses

Meta is testing a new WhatsApp feature that automatically sorts messages from large businesses — banks, airlines, and similar senders — into a separate “Offers & Updates” folder, TechCrunch has learned exclusively. The move comes as businesses increasingly use WhatsApp to reach consumers, cluttering inboxes and making it harder to find personal and group messages.

When a user receives a message from a qualifying large business, WhatsApp will automatically move it to the new folder after a set number of hours; the company said it is testing different windows, up to 24 hours. Users who prefer messages to stay on the main timeline can turn the setting off, but they don’t control the timing of the automatic moves. Meta said the feature keeps messages like discount codes and delivery updates out of the inbox within a few hours, so the main chat timeline feels less cluttered — and gives businesses a dedicated folder where users can find their messages rather than losing them among all chats.

WhatsApp is starting the test with select partners on its WhatsApp Business Platform and plans to expand based on what it observes. For now, small businesses and individual WhatsApp Business accounts are exempt, though the company said it could extend the “Offers & Updates” folder to their messages in the future.

The feature builds on several anti-spam steps WhatsApp has taken in recent years: letting users unsubscribe from brand marketing messages starting in 2024, capping the number of broadcast messages businesses and individuals can send in a given period last year, and, in October 2025, limiting how many messages businesses can send without a response from users. The first two features are fully rolled out; the third is still being iterated on.

The test also lands alongside WhatsApp’s push into AI. During Meta’s Q2 2026 earnings call, Zuckerberg said other revenue in the family-of-apps segment crossed $1 billion, largely on the strength of WhatsApp paid messaging and subscriptions. WhatsApp made its AI business agents available globally in June, and more than 1 million businesses are already using them; Zuckerberg cited Brazil’s Movida, a car rental company, as seeing more conversions and better customer-support handling through the agents.

Why it matters

With WhatsApp’s user base over 3 billion, sorting business traffic into its own folder is a step toward keeping the chat app usable as businesses — increasingly with AI agents — send more messages through it.