WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that lets users save username contacts on iOS and Android. This feature adds a new field to the contact creation screen, where users can save the username. The update makes it easier for users to save and manage username contacts.
| Key points | Details |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Username field |
| Feature availability: | Some features may be under development, so they are not available to beta testers. Others may become available to users over time. If you're unable to access a certain feature, you will need to wait for a future update. |
| News shared last week: | WhatsApp explores new chat themes on Android! |
| Previous article: | WhatsApp introduces pinned message notifications on iOS! |
Weekly WhatsApp beta updates: new features and improvements
This new weekly roundup brings together all the latest updates about WhatsApp beta shared this week. As a result, you can finally catch up on everything you might have missed from our past announcements. You can consider this summary as a way to keep up new features, improvements, and fixes. This week's highlight focuses on a new username field, available when saving contacts. See what else has been announced this week.
WhatsApp is designing new chat themes
WhatsApp is working on bringing new chat themes to the iOS app. In a future update, WhatsApp will introduce three distinct theme categories. Features is the first category that supports animated wallpapers. The Doodle category keeps the original, familiar look. The Minimal category brings plain a light or dark background to the chat interface. WhatsApp will automatically adapt the bubble color to maintain good contrast and preserve accessibility.
WhatsApp launches a username field for new contacts
After installing the recent versions of WhatsApp for Android and iOS, some users may notice a new field when they create a contact. This field lets users save the username associated with the contact. Let's suppose you know someone's username. With this feature, you can immediately add it to your WhatsApp Contacts. When you enter the username, WhatsApp will verify if it exists in their systems. Once WhatsApp confirms the username belongs to someone, you can save it in your contacts. Before saving the contact, you will have to enter their username key if they have one. Although WhatsApp is still gradually rolling out the full username feature, this is a fundamental step toward making usernames widely available.
Usernames are also compatible with Status Sharing
When you save a username in your contacts, and they save yours, you can share status updates with them. By opening the status privacy screen, you can include the username contact in the list of contacts who can view your status updates. If you saved a username contact but they did not save yours, they may still receive your status updates if you recently interacted with them and included them in your status privacy settings. As a result, usernames are fully compatible with status updates.
WhatsApp introduces notifications for pinned messages
In the post about the WhatsApp for iOS 26.31.74 update, we announced some changes regarding pinned messages. Now, WhatsApp presents a notification when someone pins a message in a chat. Previously, users could only notice pinned messages by opening the chat interface. With the latest update, WhatsApp is improving the experience by notifying users when a message is pinned. This makes it easier for users to notice important messages without opening the conversation.
WhatsApp is testing a custom reaction tray
With the WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.32.10.16 update, WhatsApp is developing a feature that lets users customize the reaction tray. With this feature, users will be able to choose which emoji the reaction tray should include. Users will be able to replace one emoji or the full set. The custom reaction tray will be available to WhatsApp Plus subscribers as part of the second set of features.
WhatsApp to introduce greeting messages for group chats
In a future update, WhatsApp will bring greeting messages to group chats. A greeting message is a message that automatically appears when a new member joins a group. Admins will be able to configure a single welcome message in their group chats. However, they will only be visible to new members who join the group, while existing members will not see them.
WhatsApp is working on a new message shortcut in the chat interface
WhatsApp is developing a feature that will let users search for messages directly from the chat interface. Instead of opening the chat info screen, users will be able to enable the search mode through a new entry point. WhatsApp will place it above the button that lets users scroll through the interface. With this functionality, users can save some time by skipping the step to open the chat info section.
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