WhatsApp Develops Birthday Reminder Feature Using Collected Birthdate Data

WhatsApp is developing a new feature that will allow users to receive birthday reminders for their contacts directly within the app. According to WABetaInfo, the feature will include a dedicated section displaying upcoming birthdays and will send notifications on the day of the event. Currently, the feature is in early development and is not available even to beta testers. It was discovered in the WhatsApp Android beta version 2.26.27.3, but cannot yet be activated or tested.

The birthday reminders will rely on birthdate information that WhatsApp has started collecting from some users, primarily due to regulatory requirements in certain countries like the United States, where online services must verify users' ages. Until now, this birthdate data was used solely for age verification and was not visible to other users, nor can the birth year be changed once entered.

With the new feature, WhatsApp plans to use this data to provide personalized birthday notifications, enabling users to send greetings through the app without relying on external reminder services. The availability of reminders will depend on whether a contact's birthdate is stored in WhatsApp's system. Since birthdate entry is not yet available to all users or regions, the feature's accessibility may vary between accounts.

As of now, WhatsApp has not introduced specific privacy settings for the birthday reminder feature, and it is unclear if users will be able to control who can see their birthdate or how the information is used. However, it is expected that dedicated privacy options will be implemented, consistent with other app features. The feature remains under development, and WhatsApp may modify its functionality before release. No official launch date has been announced for beta or general users.