WhatsApp has started testing a new feature that will remind users of their contacts’ birthdays, according to a report. Spotted in a new WhatsApp for Android beta version, with the update, the instant messaging platform will send an in-app notification to the user when it is the birthday of one of their contacts. Moreover, the company might introduce a new dedicated section with the list of all the birthdays. To enable this functionality, the company is said to use the data it collected under a regulatory mandate in certain markets. The dates of birth were initially collected by the platform for age verification, the report added.
WhatsApp’s New ‘Birthdays’ Feature on Android
WABetaInfo, a blog that tracks new features on the messaging app, has spotted a new feature that will help users remember the birthdays of their contacts. It’s still in development, even on the latest WhatsApp for Android Beta 2.26.27.3 update, which means beta testers can’t access it at the moment. The feature tracker says that WhatsApp is expected to add a new dedicated section, which will list the upcoming birthdays of the user’s contacts.
WhatsApp could introduce a dedicated section for birthdays
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo
This means that WhatsApp could remind users about their friends and family members’ birthdays within the app. On the day of the birthday of one of the user’s contacts, WhatsApp might send an in-app notification to remind them of the same, helping users to directly go to their chat window and wish them. However, these reminders will only be sent if the user’s contacts have provided the instant messaging platform with their date of birth.
Currently, WhatsApp is said to use the data it previously collected under a regulatory mandate, the report added. Certain states in the US require users to provide their dates of birth to WhatsApp for age verification purposes. However, this mandate is not enforced in other regions.
As a result, WhatsApp does not ask for the age of users in other countries and US states. Since WhatsApp can only send in-app notifications and list birthdays in the dedicated section if users provide their dates of birth voluntarily, this functionality might not work automatically for more contacts.
The feature tracker also highlights that WhatsApp has yet to introduce a privacy guardrail for the birthday notifications feature. This means that currently, users cannot select who they want to share their date of birth information with or hide it from everyone in their contact list. The under-development feature is said to roll out to Android devices as part of a future update.
