WhatsApp to let you schedule texts, photos, videos: Check details here

Type a birthday wish at noon and have WhatsApp deliver it at midnight, even if your phone is offline. WhatsApp scheduled messages now make that possible for some Android beta testers. This feature was introduced in beta version 2.26.40.7 on the Google Play Store after many months since it had been first observed by WABetaInfo in its development process.

It is used for individual and group conversations and can be used to send text, links, images, and videos. The scheduled message remains end-to-end encrypted.

Just write the message and hold the send icon rather than clicking on it. If you enable the schedule feature in your account, a box will open for you in your account, a box will open where you select the time to deliver your message. The WhatsApp app delivers the message at this very time regardless of whether it is running or not.

It is the same process with photos and videos; just go through the gallery selector and select one item and press and hold the send button. Alternatively, schedule the photos and videos using the drawing tool after writing a caption. The thing is you can only schedule one photo/video at a time in each message.

WABetaInfo reported that the soonest scheduling option is 10 minutes from the current time. The latest option is two weeks from now.

Pending messages sit in a dedicated section of the chat info screen, where you can review or delete them. Delete one, and the recipient never finds out. They get no notification and see no trace that you scheduled anything.

Group chats come with a rule you should know. WhatsApp delivers a scheduled message only to people who were in the group when you scheduled it.

Someone who joins afterwards gets nothing. That keeps older information away from members who weren't there when you wrote it.

Only some beta testers have it today. The feature is expected to reach more accounts over the coming weeks. Recipients don't need it to receive your scheduled messages.