Minis, Chattr, Discover, Nearby, and Flow: Which Tab Does What
Whistlr's main navigation includes five distinct content surfaces — Minis, Chattr, Discover, Nearby, and Flow — and new users sometimes wonder why there are so many tabs or which one to open for a given mood. Each tab is built around a different kind of content and a different reason to open the app. This article breaks down what lives in each one, when to reach for it, and how they work together as a complete experience.
Minis: Short-Form Video
Minis is Whistlr's short-form video feed, built for quick, scrollable entertainment. Content here is overwhelmingly video-first — clips, edits, skits, tutorials, and trends — presented one at a time in a vertical scroll. Minis leans heavily on your interests and watch behavior rather than strictly on who you follow, so it's the tab to open when you want to be entertained and don't have a specific person or post in mind. Tap the screen to pause, swipe up for the next clip, and use the side controls to like, comment, or send a clip to a friend.
Chattr: Your Social Feed
Chattr is the home base for the people you actually follow. It's a chronological-leaning mix of posts, Imprints, and Stories from your connections, similar to a traditional social feed. This is the tab to check when you want to see what your friends, the creators you follow, and the Pods you're part of have actually been posting — rather than content Whistlr thinks you'll like in general. Stories appear at the top, posts and Imprints fill the main scroll, and engagement here (likes, comments, shares) is what keeps your connections close.
Discover: Trending and New
Discover is built for exploration beyond your existing follows. It surfaces trending posts, popular Minis, and rising creators based on your interests and what's currently gaining traction platform-wide. Open Discover when you're bored of your current feed, want to find new accounts to follow, or are curious what's popular right now. It's also where the search function lives, making it the natural starting point when you're hunting for a specific person, topic, or trend.
Nearby: What's Happening Around You
Nearby filters content by location, showing posts, Minis, and local Pods tied to where you currently are or a place you've chosen to browse. It's the tab to use when you want a sense of what's happening in your city, at an event, or in a neighborhood you're visiting. Nearby only uses location when you've granted permission, and you can adjust how precisely your location is shared at any time in Settings > Privacy > Location.
Flow: Your Personalized Stream
Flow blends signals from across the entire app — your follows, your interests, your engagement history, and trending content — into a single personalized stream that doesn't require choosing a specific tab type. It's the closest thing to a "just show me something good" button, mixing posts, Minis, and recommendations together. Open Flow when you want one feed that adapts to you rather than deciding upfront whether you're in the mood for friends' updates or fresh discovery.
- Minis: Short-form video, interest-driven, best for quick entertainment.
- Chattr: Posts, Imprints, and Stories from accounts you follow, best for staying close to your circle.
- Discover: Trending content and search, best for finding something new.
- Nearby: Location-based content, best for seeing what's happening around you.
- Flow: A blended, personalized stream, best when you want one feed that adapts automatically.
No single feed can be everything at once — Whistlr splits content into purposeful tabs so you can choose between catching up with friends, discovering something new, or simply being entertained, depending on what you're actually in the mood for.
These tabs are designed to complement rather than duplicate each other. A creator you discover on Discover might become someone you follow and then see regularly in Chattr. A Mini you enjoy might lead you to follow its creator, which then influences your Flow. Nearby might surface a local Pod that becomes a regular stop in your routine. Rather than picking one tab and ignoring the rest, most people find a rhythm of checking Chattr for friends, dipping into Minis or Discover when they want something fresh, and letting Flow fill in the gaps when they're not sure what they're looking for.
- Catching Up With Friends: Start with Chattr to see what your connections have shared.
- Killing Time: Open Minis for a quick, low-effort entertainment scroll.
- Finding Something New: Use Discover to search or browse trending content and creators.
- Exploring Locally: Switch to Nearby when you want a sense of what's happening around you.
- Not Sure What You Want: Let Flow blend everything into one adaptive stream.