WhatsApp to add birthday reminders to its contacts tab

You already save birthdays in your phone's address book; WhatsApp just wants to put that information where you'll actually see it.

The company is developing a birthday reminder feature for a new Contacts tab on iOS, one that surfaces the date automatically without asking users to enter anything manually.

WhatsApp birthday reminders features

According to WABetaInfo, this birthday feature builds on a bigger structural change first spotted in the WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.26.10.16: a dedicated Contacts tab replacing the current Updates tab in the bottom navigation bar.

Status updates and channels are shifting into the Chats tab instead, freeing up space for a section focused purely on who you know and when they're online.

WhatsApp is not developing any birthday database of its own. What the app does is that it scans the birthday fields on the iPhone Contacts app.

For those who have previously entered birthdays in their iPhone Contacts, the reminder pops up next time they use WhatsApp, and for those who haven't, it is just a matter of adding the information to their Contacts app.

This reminder appeared in the iOS beta 26.38.10.18 version that is currently available on TestFlight as a cake emoji symbol followed by the "Birthday today" title below the contact's name. This way, the reminder remains visible throughout the day, which means that there is no chance you will miss it even if you do not enter the tab at the right time.

According to WhatsApp, the Contacts tab is not merely going to be a phone book, but it will include additional information such as contacts' status, recent activity, and also their birthdays.