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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWhatsApp is reportedly building a dedicated Contacts tab for Android. The feature is in development and is not generally available. Beta reporting from October 7, 2026 describes a tab that would bring your full contact list into one place, with search, sorting, online indicators, birthday reminders and invitations. WhatsApp has not announced a release date, and the reporting does not say when, or whether, the tab will reach a public build.
What has been reported
WABetaInfo, which tracks WhatsApp beta builds, reported on October 7, 2026 that it had spotted a Contacts tab in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.40.3. According to that report, the feature is still under development and was not yet available to beta testers. GSMArena covered the same feature on October 8, 2026 and cited WABetaInfo as its source. Both reports are secondary accounts of beta code, not an announcement from WhatsApp.
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Because the evidence comes from beta observations, the feature should be described as reported or in development. Nothing reviewed shows an official launch, a staged rollout, or a confirmed date.
What the reported tab would contain
The reporting describes a section that would hold the full contact list. The functions attributed to it are:
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- Search by name, phone number, or username.
- Sorting either alphabetically or by activity.
- Online indicators, shown as a green dot next to contacts who are currently online.
- Birthday reminders drawn from birthdays stored in the phone’s address book.
- Invitations, an option to invite people to WhatsApp.
These details could change before any public release. A beta screen that is visible to observers does not guarantee the same layout, labels or behavior in a final build.
How privacy settings would affect what appears
The reporting says a contact’s own privacy choices would shape what the tab shows. A contact who hides online status would not get the green online indicator. Contacts who turn off last seen would not appear in a list sorted by recent activity. Both points come from the same beta reporting and are not yet backed by official WhatsApp documentation for the new tab.
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Readers should treat these rules as reported behavior. The privacy controls that exist today are documented in WhatsApp’s Help Center, but that material does not describe the Contacts tab.
What WhatsApp documents today
Existing WhatsApp help material covers contact handling and chat organization, which is useful context for how the new tab would fit in.
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- Contact upload is optional. WhatsApp’s Help Center says uploading your address book helps you create and manage contacts on WhatsApp. Phone numbers from the address book are typically uploaded daily, although timing varies with factors such as usage.
- Contact management. The Help Center says you can add, share, edit, or delete contacts on mobile, and in the web and Windows desktop versions. It also notes that suggestions from your address book may appear in Chats.
- Lists and Favorites. Lists are described as customizable filters for chats. Favorites appear in the Chats tab, the Favorites list, and the Calls tab.
These existing tools are not the Contacts tab. They show where WhatsApp already handles contacts and chat filtering, not whether the new tab will exist on other platforms.
How the reported tab compares with existing tools
The table below compares the reported tab with the documented tools. It is based only on the reporting and the Help Center material described above.
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| Item | Reported Contacts tab | Existing documented tools |
|---|---|---|
| Status | In development; seen in Android beta 2.26.40.3 (WABetaInfo, October 7, 2026) | Generally documented in the WhatsApp Help Center |
| Platforms | Android only in the reporting; iOS, web and Windows not stated | Contact management on mobile, web and Windows desktop; Lists and Favorites in the app |
| Purpose | Contact discovery and quick cues in a dedicated section | Contact management, chat filtering, and favorites |
| Online and birthday cues | Reported: green online dot and birthday reminders | Not stated in the Help Center material reviewed |
| Release date | Not announced | Not applicable |
What is not yet established
- A public release date. None was given in the reports reviewed.
- Availability on iOS, web or Windows. The reporting concerns Android only.
- Official confirmation from WhatsApp of the tab’s layout, functions, or privacy rules.
- Whether the final version will match the beta description. Beta features are often changed or withdrawn before release.
Until WhatsApp publishes an official announcement or Help Center page for the tab, the description above is best read as a preview of work in progress.
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Readers commonly ask questions like these, and this article answers them as far as current reporting allows: what the new Contacts tab is, when it will be available, how to see who is online on WhatsApp, and whether WhatsApp shows birthdays in Contacts. For the last two, the answer is that the beta reporting describes an online indicator and birthday reminders in the reported tab, but it does not describe a finished, released feature.
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For these questions, the status of the reported tab is the main limit. Nothing confirms that the tab will reach any user, so any date or availability claim would go beyond the evidence.
How to follow the feature
To track this feature, watch WhatsApp’s official announcements and its Help Center pages, along with beta trackers such as WABetaInfo. A feature that appears in a beta build is not yet available in the public app, and a beta observation does not confirm a release plan.
If the tab reaches general availability, check the WhatsApp Help Center for the official description of its functions and privacy rules before relying on them.
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The Bottom Line
WhatsApp’s Contacts tab is a reported Android feature in development, seen in beta 2.26.40.3. It is not generally available, and no release date has been announced. Treat the search, sorting, online indicator, birthday and invite functions as reported beta behavior until WhatsApp confirms them.
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