How to hide chats in WhatsApp without archive

Almost all WhatsApp users have been in a situation where they have looked to hide some of their chats, yet it is not always as straight forward as it seems. 

Until now, WhatsApp would allow you to hide certain conversations but they would reappear whenever a new message would arrive, pushing them right back to the top of the list of messages which defeated the purpose of hiding them in the first place. 

That has all changed now, however, as WhatsApp has revealed that it has moved to hide chats in a separate folder, without archived feeds reappearing in the main section upon receiving a new message.

"We have heard that users want their archived messages to stay tucked away in the Archived Chats folder, instead of moving back into your main chat list when a new message arrives," the company tweeted. 

"The new Archived Chats settings mean that any message thread that is archived will now stay in the Archived Chats folder, even if a new message is sent to that thread."

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

How to keep messages archived
1.    Open the WhatsApp application

2.    Tap on the 'More options' section on the 'Chats' tab

3.    Select 'Chats', then 'Chats history', and then 'Archive all chats'

In order to send one single chat conversation into the archive section, you must tap and hold on the chat that you want to hide.

You will no longer receive notifications about these conversations "unless they are mentioned or replied to" according to WhatsApp. 

You can go back at any time and make changes to the settings for each chat by revisiting the "archived chats" section and follow the steps above as you see fit.