WhatsApp Is Turning Your Contacts Into a Birthday Reminder List
The planned feature reads birthdays from the iPhone address book and surfaces them inside WhatsApp.
WhatsApp birthday reminders are coming to a future iPhone update, with the app expected to surface birthdays already saved in the phone's address book. According to WABetaInfo, the feature is being developed for WhatsApp's new Contacts tab and is designed to show a reminder when a contact's birthday arrives.
The report says WhatsApp will mark a contact's birthday with a cake emoji and a "Birthday today" label below the person's name. The reminder is expected to remain visible throughout the day, giving users a way to notice the date while browsing their contacts instead of checking a separate calendar.
WhatsApp Birthday Reminders Use the Phone's Contact Data
WhatsApp birthday reminders will not require users to build a separate birthday list inside WhatsApp. The app reads the birthday field already stored for a contact in the phone's address book. If a birthday is added or changed in the Contacts app, WhatsApp can use that updated information.
That approach also fits with other work around WhatsApp's contact experience. Saganote previously covered how WhatsApp is testing a green dot to show when contacts are online, while the app is also testing usernames as an alternative to showing phone numbers. Both developments point to WhatsApp adding more useful information and controls around how contacts are displayed.
The Birthday Feature Is Still in Development
WABetaInfo reported the birthday reminder work on September 24, 2026, after finding it in WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.38.10.70. A follow-up report on September 26 said WhatsApp is also testing a dedicated Birthday field in the contact info screen. That would let users check a contact's birthday even when it is not the person's birthday.
The two surfaces would serve different purposes: the contact info screen could show the saved birthday date, while the Contacts tab could highlight that the birthday is happening that day.
WhatsApp has not announced a public release date, and the birthday features are still under development rather than available to all iPhone users. The current reporting comes from WABetaInfo's testing discoveries, so the final design and availability could change before release.
