This week, WhatsApp is enhancing the reaction experience by introducing status stickers and celebratory emoji animations that make chats more interactive. The update allows users to place expressive stickers on status updates and trigger festive confetti effects without changing the core messaging experience.
| Key points | Details |
|---|---|
| Name of the feature: | Status Sticker and Celebratory Emojis |
| Feature availability: | Some features announced in this article may be under development and not yet available to all beta testers, or they may be gradually rolling out to users. If you're unable to access a certain feature, you will need to wait for a future update. Keep reading for more information. |
| News of last week: | WhatsApp is Rolling Out Multi-Account Feature on iOS for Seamless Profile Switching! |
| Previous article: | WhatsApp beta for iOS 25.35.10.70: what's new? WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that lets users react to status updates using a reaction sticker! |
Weekly WhatsApp Beta Updates: New Features and Improvements
This weekly roundup brings together all the latest WhatsApp beta updates from the past week, giving you a single place to catch up on everything you might have missed. Whether you follow our updates closely or only check in occasionally, this summary ensures you stay informed about new features, improvements, and fixes. This week's highlight is the rollout of reaction stickers and celebratory emoji animations, which allow users to add expressive stickers directly to status updates and trigger festive confetti effects. Stay in the loop and see what's new in WhatsApp before the next updates are available.
WhatsApp Adds Festive Confetti Reactions for the Holiday Season
With the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.25.35.11 update, WhatsApp has introduced a feature that turns selected emoji reactions into colorful confetti animations. This functionality aims to give chats a more festive and expressive atmosphere during seasonal conversations. The Party Popper emoji is now included in the default reaction tray, allowing users to access the effect instantly and create lively interactions without searching through extended emoji lists. Several other emojis, including the Partying Face, Confetti Ball, Clinking Glasses and Bottle with Popping Cork, also trigger the same celebratory animation so users can choose the expression that best suits the moment.
Each supported emoji produces an identical visual effect that keeps celebrations consistent while still letting people personalize their reactions. The animation is powered by the Lottie framework, which delivers smooth, crisp visuals that work efficiently across different devices without affecting performance. Lottie enables detailed motions in a lightweight format, allowing WhatsApp to offer high quality animations that feel seamless when users tap a reaction. The addition of confetti effects brings a playful dimension to chats, channels and status updates by transforming simple reactions into moments that feel more shared and vivid. These animations will be available for a limited period, matching the timing of holiday events and giving users a seasonal touch that makes conversations feel more spirited.
WhatsApp Tests Reaction Stickers to Make Status Updates More Interactive
Following the release of the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.25.36.6 update, users can place a reaction sticker directly on their status images or videos. This new content sticker creates an experience that feels familiar to those who have used similar tools on Instagram Stories. The feature allows creators to choose any emoji from the full library before posting, giving them a way to match the sticker with the mood or theme of their content for a more expressive presentation. When viewers open a status containing one of these stickers, the emoji appears prominently on the media so they immediately understand where to tap to send a reaction. A single tap sends the chosen reaction privately to the creator, making engagement feel instant and comfortable without exposing responses to the rest of the contact list.
Creators receive clear notifications identifying who reacted and which emoji was used, and these responses are organized in a separate section of the activity sheet to distinguish them from general views. This structured layout helps creators understand how people are interacting with their updates and makes it easier to notice patterns in audience behavior over time. The placement of the sticker on the visual content itself increases visibility and encourages viewers to participate, since the prompt sits at the center of the moment rather than being hidden behind an extra gesture. By combining clear placement, easy interaction and meaningful customization, WhatsApp aims to turn status updates into spaces where reactions feel more spontaneous and engaging.
WhatsApp Boosts Apple Watch Visibility and Core Functionality
WhatsApp has updated the changelog on the App Store to prominently highlight the newly available Apple Watch companion app, making the smartwatch features impossible to miss for users browsing updates. The listing calls out core capabilities such as sending voice messages, reacting with emojis, accessing recent chat history and receiving call alerts, and it specifies compatibility with Apple Watch models running watchOS 10.0 or later. While the watch app does not operate completely independently from an iPhone, it reliably handles essential tasks by letting users open recent conversations and compose replies directly from their wrist. Navigating conversations on the watch is smooth, with scrolling and quick access to important threads so people can keep up with messages without constantly reaching for their phone.
Notifications arrive in real time and support instant responses and emoji reactions, which helps maintain conversational flow when the phone is not at hand. Connection and syncing between the Apple Watch and iPhone happen automatically once paired, so chats remain consistent across both devices and setup friction is minimized. Users can view pinned conversations, disappearing messages and shared media straight from the chat list, and input options like voice dictation and emoji make replying fast and intuitive. Additionally, the recent iOS update fixes early crash issues to improve stability on Apple Watch, and WhatsApp continues to offer a TestFlight beta channel for existing testers to receive faster builds and provide feedback.
WhatsApp Brings Festive Confetti Reactions to iOS Users
With the WhatsApp beta for iOS 25.35.10.71 update, even iOS users can now enjoy new festive confetti animations, a feature that turns selected emoji reactions into colorful bursts that make ordinary messages feel more celebratory. The Party Popper emoji has been placed directly inside the reaction tray on iOS, giving people immediate access to a reaction that triggers bright confetti without digging through extended emoji menus. Several other emojis, including the Partying Face, Clinking Glasses, Confetti Ball and Bottle with Popping Cork, also activate the same animated effect, allowing users to choose whichever expression best reflects the mood of the conversation. Each supported emoji creates the identical visual animation, giving chats a coherent and lively style while still letting people personalize their reactions.
The animation runs smoothly on iOS because it is powered by the Lottie framework, which keeps complex visuals lightweight and responsive so users experience crisp effects on any screen size. Lottie’s efficient design allows WhatsApp to deliver detailed and interactive animations without slowing the app or affecting the fluidity of everyday messaging. By adding these festive effects, WhatsApp offers iOS users a more playful way to react to messages in chats, channels and status updates, giving even small interactions a celebratory tone. The feature will remain available only for a limited time during the holiday period, making these animated reactions feel seasonal and special while they last.
iOS Users Can Now Add Reaction Stickers to WhatsApp Status Updates
With the WhatsApp beta for iOS 25.35.10.70 update, some iOS users can now apply reaction stickers to their status updates, just like Android users, placing interactive emojis directly on images or videos to invite immediate responses. The sticker appears prominently on the content, making it clear exactly where viewers should tap, and mirrors the familiar approach used in Instagram Stories to guide engagement. While the default emoji is the Smiling Face with Heart Eyes, users can customize the sticker with any emoji that matches the mood, theme, or emotional tone of their status, allowing each update to feel more personal and expressive. When viewers tap a reaction sticker, the response is sent instantly and privately to the creator, ensuring that only the author sees the feedback while keeping interactions smooth and effortless.
Creators receive clear notifications identifying both the reacting contact and the chosen emoji, and all reactions are organized in a dedicated section separate from standard view counts, allowing easy tracking of audience interaction. By combining visible placement, emoji customization, and private delivery, WhatsApp encourages spontaneous and genuine engagement with status updates. This approach transforms simple status updates into interactive spaces where reactions feel natural, expressive, and immediately rewarding for both viewers and creators.
WhatsApp Prepares New Guidance to Help Users Avoid Suspensions
In the article about the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.25.35.7 update, we announced that WhatsApp is developing a feature that explains the behaviors most likely to lead to suspensions. This functionality will offer clear guidance to users who find the rules confusing despite their presence in the official Terms of Service. These suggestions will appear during the review process to help suspended users understand what triggered the issue and to encourage them to adjust their habits before facing another ban.
WhatsApp aims that this educational approach can reduce repeated violations by clarifying which actions harm the community and how users can maintain safer communication practices. WhatsApp highlights that bulk messaging, where large numbers of messages are sent quickly to people who have not asked to be contacted, can resemble spam and easily trigger account restrictions. WhatsApp also warns against automated messaging through bots or unauthorized tools, since these create artificial behavior patterns that undermine authentic interactions and expose recipients to intrusive outreach.
Unsolicited messages, especially those sent to strangers using contact lists obtained without consent, can lead to reports and account reviews because they violate the expectation of privacy and personal boundaries. To detect harmful behavior without reading message content, WhatsApp relies on encrypted safety systems that analyze unusual patterns such as rapid message bursts or activity resembling bulk distribution. As alternatives to risky practices, WhatsApp recommends official tools like broadcast lists, status updates and channels, along with the Business Cloud API for structured automation that complies with platform rules.
Stay tuned with us to discover new features and updates about WhatsApp coming your way next week. We will continue tracking all the latest beta releases, improvements, and bug fixes so you never miss a thing. Make sure to check back regularly and stay ahead with the newest ways to enhance your WhatsApp experience.
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