Mobile developers can now implement powerful search capabilities in their chat applications. We've extended our Conversation Search and Advanced Message Search features to Android, iOS, and Flutter SDKs, bringing the same search functionality previously available in web UI kits to native mobile platforms.
What we're launching
We're adding comprehensive search capabilities to CometChat's mobile SDKs, including Conversation Search and Advanced Message Search. These features allow users to quickly locate conversations and messages within your mobile applications, eliminating the need to scroll through long chat histories.
Key search capabilities include:
Search conversations by name, user, or group.
Advanced message filtering with MIME type support.
File name and mention-based searches.
Custom filtering for links, media, reactions, and threads.
Timestamp-based message retrieval.
Why this matters for mobile developers
Mobile chat applications often accumulate hundreds or thousands of messages across multiple conversations. Without proper search functionality, users struggle to find important information buried in chat histories. This becomes particularly problematic on mobile devices where screen space is limited and scrolling through long conversations is cumbersome.
These search features solve critical mobile UX challenges:
Performance optimization: Native search reduces memory usage compared to loading entire conversation histories.
User retention: Users can quickly find information without frustration, improving app engagement.
Enterprise readiness: Advanced filtering meets compliance and data retrieval requirements.
Cross-platform consistency: Unified search experience across Android, iOS, and Flutter applications.
Key features and capabilities
Conversation search
The conversation search API allows users to find specific chats quickly. Search parameters include:
Conversation names and group titles.
User names and display names.
Group member searches
Recent conversation prioritization
Advanced message search
The advanced search goes beyond basic text matching with support for:
Advanced filtering options:
File-based searches: Find messages by file names or MIME types
Mention detection: Locate messages containing specific user mentions
Content filtering: Search for messages with links, images, or videos.
Thread-specific searches: Filter messages within conversation threads
User and timestamp filtering: Messages from specific users or time ranges
What's next
These mobile search capabilities provide the foundation for building sophisticated chat applications that scale with user needs. The consistent API design across platforms makes it easy to implement search once and deploy everywhere.
Mobile developers can now offer the same advanced search experience that web applications provide, ensuring users can find important conversations and messages regardless of their platform.
Ready to implement search in your mobile chat app? Learn more on our documentation.
Nivedita Bharathy
Product Marketing Specialist , CometChat