Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 1 billion active users. It’s a convenient way to chat with friends, family and colleagues. But as conversations get longer, it can be difficult to find specific messages you’re looking for by scrolling through the whole chat.
Luckily, Messenger has a built-in search feature that allows you to quickly locate keywords and phrases within a conversation. Whether you’re using Messenger on your phone or computer, searching is easy once you know where to look.
In this article, we’ll walk through the simple steps to search within any Facebook Messenger chat on mobile and desktop. You’ll be able to find that important piece of info in no time!
Searching Messenger Conversations on iPhone and Android
Step 1: Open the conversation you want to search
First, open the Messenger app on your phone and navigate to the conversation you want to search within. Tap on it to open the chat window.
Step 2: Tap the name at the top
Once you’re in the conversation, tap on the name(s) of the people in the chat at the very top of the screen. This will open a menu with more options.
Step 3: Select “Search in Conversation”
In the menu that appears, look for the Search in Conversation option and tap it. On iPhone it will be under the More Actions section. On Android, it may appear right in the main list.
Step 4: Enter your search term
Tapping Search in Conversation will open a search bar at the top of the chat. Type in any keywords or phrases you want to find in this specific conversation. Then tap the Search button on your keyboard.
Step 5: Browse the search results
Messenger will display a list of all the messages that contain matches for your search term, in chronological order with the most recent first. Tap on any result to view it in context within the conversation.
You can navigate between results using the up and down arrows. When you’re done, tap Cancel or Done to close the search and return to the conversation.
Searching Messenger on Facebook.com
Step 1: Go to messenger.com
Open a web browser and go to messenger.com. Log in with your Facebook account if prompted. You’ll see a list of your conversations on the left side of the page.
Step 2: Select a conversation
Click on the conversation you want to search in the left sidebar. It will open in the main window on the right.
Step 3: Click “Search in Conversation”
With the conversation open, look on the right side of the page for the Search in Conversation option. It may be under a Customize Chat section. Click on it to make the search bar appear at the top of the chat.
Step 4: Type your search and press Enter
In the search bar, type in the word or phrase you want to find in this conversation. Then press the Enter key to perform the search.
Step 5: Use arrows to navigate results
The total number of matches for your search will be shown at the top, along with up and down arrows. Use these to jump between the found messages within the conversation.
When you’re done searching, click Done next to the result count to close the search bar. The conversation will return to normal.
Tips for Searching in Messenger
- Searches are performed within each individual conversation only. There isn’t a way to search across all your messages at once.
- You can search for single words, phrases, or even emoji. Results will show messages containing exact matches.
- If you can’t find the Search in Conversation option, try updating your Messenger app to the latest version.
- For privacy reasons, Messenger search results may exclude very old messages, especially if you’ve changed devices since they were sent.
Conclusion
Searching within Messenger conversations is a valuable feature that can save you a lot of time and scrolling. Instead of hunting through hundreds of messages, you can jump right to the ones you need with a quick search.
The process is straightforward on both the mobile apps and messenger.com website. Just open the conversation, find the Search in Conversation option in the settings, then enter the text you want to locate.
By following the steps in this guide, you’ll be able to take advantage of Messenger’s search powers and quickly find important information, links, and media within any chat. Try it out the next time you need to reference something!
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