- WhatsApp introduces custom status sharing lists for greater control.
- New chat navigation and media sharing features are tested.
- Sticker reactions and enhanced contact visibility are coming soon.
WhatsApp Update: WhatsApp has had a busy week on the beta front, with several new features and improvements spotted across Android and iOS. The biggest update this week centres on status lists, a new tool that gives users more control over who sees their updates.
Beyond that, the app is also testing changes to chat navigation, media sharing, broadcast limits, and storage management. Here is everything that was announced this week.
How Is WhatsApp Giving Users More Control Over Status Updates?
The most talked-about update this week involves a new way to manage who sees your WhatsApp status. The app is rolling out custom lists for both iOS and Android users, letting them define specific groups of contacts for status sharing.
Instead of adjusting the “Only share with” privacy settings every time, users can simply select a pre-made list before posting.
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WhatsApp also automatically creates a default list called “Close Friends,” which can be edited at any time by adding or removing contacts. The app does not notify others when changes are made to these lists, keeping edits private.
To make things visually clear, status updates shared with custom lists or close friends will appear with a purple ring around them. The audience will also see the list name and its emoji, so they know why they are seeing that particular update.
What Other WhatsApp Features Are Being Tested This Week?
According to WABetaInfo, several other updates are in the pipeline across both platforms. On Android, the beta version 2.26.20.2 introduces a new system to view chat lists, making it easier to navigate the Chats tab.
Users will also be able to remove certain mandatory filters, including the Favourites list. A separate update, version 2.26.20.7, brings three new tabs to the group chat info screen to help users find settings faster.
On iOS, version 26.19.75 adds recent photos and videos directly within the chat attachment sheet, so users no longer need to open the full gallery. Version 26.19.76 introduces a contact grid on the forward picker screen, showing six contacts at a time across two rows.
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WhatsApp is also working on sticker reactions for Android. Users will be able to long-press a message and react with a sticker, similar to how emoji reactions currently work. A contacts hub is in development for iOS as well, showing who is currently online or recently active, along with quicker access to favourite contacts.
On the storage front, a future update will let users manage storage specifically for status updates, including sorting them by size and deleting them manually without waiting for the automatic 24-hour expiry. Finally, iOS version 26.19.77 introduces a message credits system for broadcast lists, capping the number of messages that can be sent for free, applicable to both individual users and businesses.
