title: 'Find a conversation by the contact's email or phone' description: 'The Conversations inbox search looks at the contact's name, email and phone — including a formatted phone pasted straight from WhatsApp.' mode: how-to owner: 'CRM' lastVerified: '2026-09-24' sourceFiles: [] relatedTickets: []
Find a conversation by the contact's email or phone
Type the contact's name, email or phone in the Search by name, email or phone... field at the top of the conversation list. The list then shows only that contact's conversations.
Before you start — access to Conversations. Search works within what you already see: if you handle conversations, it narrows only yours, and inbox filters still apply.
Search by contact
- Open Conversations.
- Click the Search by name, email or phone... field above the list.
- Paste or type the contact's name, email or phone.
The list updates as you type. Any part works: searching @company.com brings up conversations with every contact from that company.
Paste the phone as it is
Phones work formatted or not. These all find the same contact:
(11) 99999-8888+55 11 99999-8888119999988885511999998888
If it didn't work
- I searched by phone and found nothing → search uses the contact's phone. A WhatsApp number different from the registered phone, or a secondary email, is not searched. Try the name or the main email.
- The conversation exists but doesn't show up → check whether an inbox filter is active (the filter icon shows a yellow dot). Search and filters combine.