Your archived WhatsApp chats will no longer resurrect themselves — unless you let them. The messaging giant is rolling out a settings change that will keep those conversation threads tucked away in the Archived Chats folder by default, even if someone sends a new message. You’ll have to remove a thread from the archives if you want to make it active again.
If you prefer the old behavior, you can restore it through the relevant settings in the Chats tab.
This could prove frustrating if someone wants to bring back a discussion you wouldn’t mind revisiting, such as a classmate chat or a party planning session. However, it could easily be worthwhile if it prevents someone from dredging up bad memories or otherwise hijacking control of archives you’d rather keep hidden.
Archive on WhatsApp lets you organize your private messages and prioritize important conversations. Your Archived chats will now remain archived and muted but you can always change them back! pic.twitter.com/QbAY6iu81p
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) July 27, 2021