WhatsApp is testing birthday notifications for contacts on Android
WhatsApp is developing a new section that shows when a contact's birthday is coming up. The update builds on a feature that asks for birth year that WhatsApp already collects for regulatory reasons. When it is someone's birthday, users will receive a notification directly within the app.
| Key Points | Details |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Birthday notifications for contacts |
| Status: | Under development |
| Availability info: | This feature is currently in development and it is not available for beta testing yet. |
| Previous news: | WhatsApp launches new features to manage chats on Wear OS! |
WhatsApp asks some users for their date of birth for regulatory purposes
In the post about the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.12.25 update, we announced a feature that asks users for their birth year. WhatsApp introduced this feature for regulatory reasons. In particular, several US states passed age verification laws that require online services to confirm the age of their users. WhatsApp started collecting this information to comply, and the data is not visible to other users. Once entered, users cannot change their birth year. At the time, WhatsApp introduced this control purely to comply with law. As a result, the birthday data had no other purpose beyond that.
WhatsApp will use that data to notify users about birthdays
The requirement to comply with law is now the foundation of something more personal. Now, WhatsApp is turning that same information into something users can benefit from. We discovered the news with the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.27.3 update, which is available on the Google Play Store. Specifically, WhatsApp is working on a feature that notifies users when it is the birthday of one of their contacts.
How the birthday section will work on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is building a dedicated section where users can see upcoming birthdays from their contacts. When a contact's birthday arrives, WhatsApp sends an in-app notification to remind the user. The section works as a simple overview, so users don't have to rely on a separate calendar app or remember dates on their own. Since most people already use WhatsApp to send birthday wishes, a reminder there just makes sense.
WhatsApp needs your contacts to share their birthday
A birthday reminder will only show up if the contact shared their date of birth with WhatsApp. At the moment, WhatsApp doesn't ask users to enter their birth year in every region. So if a contact never entered their birthday, WhatsApp has no data to work with and no reminder will appear. This means the feature depends on how many people will share their birthday with WhatsApp. As more users add this information over time, the birthday section will become more useful for everyone.
WhatsApp has not added privacy settings for birthdays yet
At this stage of development, WhatsApp has not introduced any privacy controls that let users decide whether to share their birthday with their contacts. There is no option yet to keep the date visible only to WhatsApp for regulatory purposes and hide it from their contacts. However, this feature is still in very early development. This means that WhatsApp could add a dedicated privacy setting before the official launch. This would give users more control over who gets to see when their birthday is.
Why the birthday reminder feature makes sense for WhatsApp
WhatsApp already holds birthday data for a large number of users, collected as a result of age verification requirements. A feature that notifies when it's the birthday of one of their contacts will turn that compliance data into something users can benefit from. Other messaging apps and social platforms already offer this feature, and adding one to WhatsApp fills a gap that many users probably didn't realize was there. It will also give people a reason to open WhatsApp on a friend's birthday, which is exactly the kind of moment the app is built for.
WhatsApp is developing birthday notifications for a future Android update
The feature that notifies users about their contacts' birthdays is currently under development on Android. WhatsApp has not enabled it for beta testers yet, and there is no official timeline for its release. We expect WhatsApp to refine the feature further before making it available to beta testers. We will share more details once WhatsApp moves this feature closer to a public release.
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