WhatsApp is working on a dedicated Contacts tab for Android that could give users a central place to find people, see who is currently online, and check upcoming birthdays. The feature was spotted in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.40.3 and is still under development, so it isn't yet available to beta testers or regular users. The update could make contact management more prominent within the messaging app.
The new section appears to expand on WhatsApp's earlier work showing a list of online contacts. Instead of keeping the feature inside settings, WhatsApp now appears to be developing a separate tab dedicated to contacts and related tools.
The proposed Contacts tab would display a user's WhatsApp contacts in one place, with a green dot appearing on profile pictures of people who are currently online. Users could also sort the list either by activity or alphabetically.
With the activity option, online contacts would appear at the top, followed by recently active users. The alphabetical option would arrange contacts by name regardless of their current status.
WhatsApp has already been testing the green online indicator on Android and iOS. The indicator is designed to reflect when a contact is actively using WhatsApp, while users who have chosen to hide their online status would not appear as online.
The Contacts tab could also become a place for birthday reminders. WhatsApp is reportedly developing a feature that reads birthday information saved in a user's phone address book and displays it alongside the relevant contact.
When a contact has a birthday, the app could show a cake emoji and a “Birthday today” label, making it easier to spot the reminder without opening a separate calendar or contacts application.
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The proposed tab is expected to include a search bar that lets users find contacts using their name, phone number or username. It could also include an option to invite people who are not yet using WhatsApp. A shortcut to Meta AI is reportedly planned as well, while an “Invite a friend” section could appear at the bottom of the contact list.
For now, the Contacts tab remains a work in progress. WhatsApp has not announced a public release date, and features seen during development can change or be dropped before reaching users. If released, however, the new section could give WhatsApp users a more organized way to manage contacts and stay aware of their availability and important dates.