How to Archive WhatsApp Chats on Android and Keep Them Hidden

1 June, 2021 — James Brandon

The archive function in WhatsApp has been in use for a while now. When you archive a conversation in WhatsApp, the conversation is moved to the archive folder and cannot be seen from the Chats tab. However, if a new message is received from an archived chat, the chat will reappear in the Chats tab.

Can you archive WhatsApp chats and keep them hidden forever? Yes, you can. The new WhatsApp Beta version comes with a permanent archive function. The permanent archive function allows you to archive chats permanently if you want to ignore them or remove them from your Chats tab forever. In a previous related article, we discussed how you can hide specific WhatsApp chats.

Currently, the feature is only available for WhatsApp Beta users and will be rolled out to other WhatsApp users in subsequent WhatsApp versions. Users already enrolled in the Beta program can turn on the permanent archive feature from the settings menu.

To archive WhatsApp chats and keep them hidden permanently:

• Launch the WhatsApp app by tapping on its icon

• While on the Chats tab, tap the three vertical dots located on the top right side of the screen

• On the menu that appears, tap on Settings

• On the settings page, tap on Chats

• Under the “Archived chats” header, enable the “Keep chats archived” option

• Now go back to the chats tab, tap and hold on to any conversation that you wish to archive, and tap the archive icon that will appear on the top of the screen

• The selected conversation will be archived. The Archive folder will move to the top of the Chats tab making it easy for you to access your archived conversations.