You sent a quote, a question, or "can you confirm Thursday?" Two days later you can't remember who answered. WhatsApp Web shows Unread, but nothing for "I spoke last and heard nothing back."
I built WA Folders for that gap. It's a Chrome extension for https://web.whatsapp.com only (not the phone app). Disclosure: I'm the maker.
What you need
- Chrome on a computer
- WhatsApp Web signed in
- WA Folders: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/wa-folders/hahfpdlfieloofgjhanljbbnakinfhil?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=e4h
Written against WA Folders 1.2.4. The current Chrome Web Store version is 1.2.9.
The Today line
Open WhatsApp Web and wait for your chats. The top of the WA Folders panel has a Today line with up to four counts (a count only shows when it's above zero):
- Due: reminders that have come up
- To reply: chats waiting on you
- Questions for me: chats where their last message asks you something
- Waiting on them: one-to-one chats where you sent the last message and got nothing back
Click a count to filter the panel to that list, and click it again to go back. When nothing is pending, the line says "No one waiting in the chats you've opened." On a fresh install, WA Folders fills the lists from the chat rows on screen: one-to-one chats with an unread badge go to To reply, and chats whose last message shows your own ticks go to Waiting on them. If a row shows neither, WA Folders doesn't guess, and the line can say "Open a few chats so I can learn who's waiting on you." until it has seen more.
Waiting on them
This list shows one-to-one chats where your message is the last one, after a delay you choose in Settings: 4 hours, 1 day (the default), 2 days or 3 days. Groups are left out on purpose, since "nobody answered in the family group" is rarely a to-do.
On first load it reads the chat rows WhatsApp has drawn on screen (preview, time, your own ticks), so scroll the list to include more. Once you open a chat, what WA Folders sees there replaces that first guess. It reads what's on the page and doesn't call WhatsApp's servers.
Questions for me
This one lists chats where the other person spoke last and their message has a question mark in it (links are ignored). It's a simple rule, so "ok?" counts and "let me know when you're free" doesn't. On first load it uses the chat-list preview instead: an unread one-to-one chat whose preview ends in a question mark. In practice it catches most of the "did you see this?" messages that slip by.
Follow-ups that clear themselves
Right after you send something, open This chat in the panel. Under "Remind me if they don't reply" pick 1 day or 3 days. Follow-ups are for one-to-one chats; for a group, use a normal reminder.
- If they answer before then, the follow-up disappears on its own.
- If they don't, the chat shows up under Due, with a badge on the toolbar icon and an optional desktop notification.
The free plan holds 2 reminders at a time, and a follow-up counts as one. Pro has no limit on reminders. Free plan included; Pro is a one-time unlock, see https://wafolders.com.
Optional: a 9:00 morning digest
In Settings you can turn on one notification at 9:00 each morning with the same four counts. It needs notification permission and is off by default.
What it doesn't do
- It never presses Send. No bulk send, no auto-reply, no broadcasts.
- No WA Folders account or server. Data stays in
chrome.storage.localon this device. - Not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.
Soft ask
If this list saved you from a forgotten "can you confirm?", a one-line review on the Chrome Web Store helps the next person decide. No perk for writing one.
Related: How to organize WhatsApp Web chats into folders shows the Today line and Smart views with screenshots, and How to make folders in WhatsApp Web covers setup. Search and export have their own guides: How to search WhatsApp Web messages, and why some don't show up and How to export a WhatsApp Web chat, and what ends up in the file.
Top comments (0)