WhatsApp Testing Media Hub to Browse Shared Files Across Chats

WhatsApp is testing a Media Hub on Web and Mac that gathers images, videos, GIFs, links and documents from all chats into one place. The feature adds search (by contact, caption or date), multi-select management and size-based sorting to help users find media and free up space faster.

What is the Media Hub?

WhatsApp’s Media Hub provides a single, centralised view of all media shared across a user’s chats — eliminating the need to open individual conversations to find files. The hub surfaces recent images, videos, GIFs, links and documents in a sidebar-accessible panel and includes options to filter and search content.

How the Media Hub works

According to reports from users and feature trackers, Media Hub includes:

• A dedicated button in the sidebar for quick access.

• Integrated search that accepts contact names, captions or dates.

• Filters and chronological sorting for easy navigation.

• Size-based sorting so users can identify large files first.

• Multi-select support to manage or delete multiple files at once.

The feature was first spotted in development in May and is rolling out to a limited set of WhatsApp Web and Mac users for testing.

Significance of the Feature

For power users and those with large chat histories, Media Hub solves a common pain point: scattered media across dozens of group and one-to-one chats. Practical benefits include:

• Faster retrieval of important files or links without hunting through chats.

• Better device storage management using size-based sorting.

• Simpler workflows for saving, forwarding or deleting multiple files at once.

For businesses and professionals who use WhatsApp for work, this centralised view can make it easier to locate client assets, receipts or documents shared in multiple threads.

Rollout, limitations and what to expect

The rollout appears limited and cautious — typical for a feature that touches large volumes of user data. WhatsApp will likely widen availability after assessing stability and user feedback. As with any new media feature, users should watch for how the hub handles privacy, search indexing, and cross-device synchronisation.