WA FoldersHow to add private notes to WhatsApp Web chats
Short answer: WhatsApp describes notes as a WhatsApp Business app feature. On a regular account, people keep notes in a chat with themselves or in their phone's contact card, and neither sits next to the chat the note is about. On web.whatsapp.com in Chrome, the WA Folders extension adds a private note box to every chat. The note is saved in Chrome on your computer, and the other person never sees it. We build WA Folders, so weigh that part with that in mind.
What WhatsApp offers
WhatsApp's own small-business site has a page on notes in the WhatsApp Business app. It says notes "let you save important details right inside the customer's chat", and suggests saving things like sizes, past orders, delivery preferences and birthdays. The page is about the Business app. It doesn't say whether personal accounts get notes, or how notes show on WhatsApp Web, so check your own app before you switch accounts for this.
Workarounds on a regular account
- A chat with yourself. WhatsApp lets you message your own number, and plenty of people use that chat as a notepad. It works on every device. The catch is that all your notes pile up in one chat, away from the person each note is about.
- The contact card on your phone. Your phone's Contacts app usually has a notes field. It stays with the contact, but you have to leave WhatsApp to read it, and it doesn't show on WhatsApp Web.
- Pinning or starring a message. This keeps one of the chat's own messages handy. It doesn't let you write something the other person didn't send.
Add a note on WhatsApp Web with WA Folders
WA Folders is a Chrome extension that runs only on web.whatsapp.com. Notes are part of the free plan.
Step 1: install and reload
Install WA Folders from the Chrome Web Store, then open or reload web.whatsapp.com. The WA Folders panel appears beside your chats once the page has loaded.
Step 2: open the chat
Click the chat in WhatsApp as usual. In the WA Folders panel, the This chat section now shows that chat.
Step 3: write the note
Type in the box that says "Private note — saved only on this computer". It saves while you type and again when you click away, so there is no Save button. A note holds up to 2,000 characters. To get there from the keyboard, press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on a Mac) and choose Write a private note for this chat.
Step 4: find it again
Open the chat and the note is back in the box. You can also type a word from the note in the WA Folders search box, which searches chat names, your notes and the messages WA Folders has seen. The Notes filter shows only matches from notes. Free search shows 5 results per search; Pro shows all of them.
To delete a note, clear the box.
What people keep in a chat note
- An order or invoice number, and what was agreed on price or delivery.
- A customer's size, address or the product they asked about last time.
- Who someone is: "Ana's dentist", "landlord, flat 4B", "met at the March fair".
- What you promised to send, so a reminder on the same chat has context.
Notes, exports and backups
When you export the open chat to HTML, Markdown or JSON, the file starts with your note under "Your note". CSV exports carry only the messages. Settings > Backup and restore downloads a JSON file that includes your notes, and restoring it brings them back on another computer. Pro sync copies folders, quick replies and rules between your Chrome browsers, but notes stay on the computer where you wrote them.
Where your notes are stored
WA Folders keeps notes, folders and its search index in Chrome's local storage on your computer. There is no WA Folders account, no WA Folders server and no analytics. A note never goes into the chat, so the other person can't see it, and it doesn't appear on your phone. WA Folders never presses Send and has no bulk sending.
What it costs
Notes are free. The free plan has no time limit and includes 5 folders, 5 search results per search, 3 exports a day and 2 reminders at a time. Pro is a one-time $4.99 payment with no subscription, and removes those limits. There is no free trial of Pro.
WA Folders is an independent extension and is not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.
Sources
- WhatsApp Business: Creating personalized customer interactions with notes and catalog, checked October 22, 2026
- WA Folders on the Chrome Web Store (version 1.3.7), checked October 22, 2026