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WhatsApp Starts Rolling Out Scheduled Messages on Android Beta
WhatsApp should soon welcome a long-awaited new feature: scheduled messages. WhatsApp beta testers on Android can now try out this feature that users have been requesting for years.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is starting to roll out the scheduled messages feature with beta version 2.26.40.7 for Android, distributed via the Google Play Store. Only a portion of beta testers currently have access, and the feature should reach more accounts over the coming weeks. It should then make its way to the stable version of WhatsApp so all users can benefit from it.
It has to be said that WhatsApp is a bit late here: Telegram has offered scheduled messages since 2019, and Apple added delayed sending to iMessage with iOS 18. On WhatsApp, only businesses had a form of scheduling, through the paid broadcast features in WhatsApp Business. Regular users, meanwhile, had to resort to workarounds.
How does scheduling a message work in WhatsApp?
There is nothing revolutionary here, as the process is similar to what you find in other apps. To schedule a WhatsApp message, after typing your message, press and hold the send button. An interface then appears so you can choose the date and time your message will be delivered.
These messages are characterized as follows:
- The scheduling window: a message can be scheduled as early as 10 minutes from the current time, and up to two weeks in advance.
- Supported content: text, links, photos, and videos. One limitation, however: only one photo or video per scheduled message.
- Managing pending sends: scheduled messages appear in a dedicated section within the conversation. You can view, manage, and delete them before they are sent.
- Discretion: the recipient does not see that a message has been scheduled.
Another interesting point: the message is sent at the scheduled time even if the app is closed or your device is offline. In other words, everything is handled on WhatsApp's servers. That would also mean the message is encrypted on the device before being stored on the servers while waiting to be sent.
Users will also be able to schedule a message in a WhatsApp group. However, there is one small detail here: the message is sent only to members who are in the group at the time you scheduled it. Someone who joins the group later will not receive it. In itself, that makes sense.
That leaves one question: the release timeline. No stable release date has been announced yet. We can imagine it will be available by the end of the year!
