WhatsApp has started rolling out scheduled messages to some Android beta testers, letting them queue texts, links, photos, and videos for later. According to WABetaInfo’s rollout report, the feature appears in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.40.7 and supports both individual conversations and group chats.
The report says messages can arrive at the chosen time even if the sender’s phone is offline or the app is closed. That’s the useful distinction here: scheduling a message would no longer mean remembering to open WhatsApp when it’s time to send it.
This remains a limited beta rollout, not a general release. WABetaInfo expects access to expand to more accounts over the coming weeks, but its report doesn’t give a public launch date or establish availability for UAE users.
How scheduled messages work
For testers with access, the controls sit behind the send button. After writing a message, users press and hold that button to open a panel where they can choose a delivery date and time.
The scheduling window starts 10 minutes ahead and extends to two weeks. That covers an evening update or a birthday greeting prepared in advance, but it isn’t a way to queue messages months into the future.
Photos and videos use the same press-and-hold gesture in the gallery picker. Users can also schedule from the drawing editor after editing an image or adding a caption. There’s a restriction: each scheduled media message supports only one photo or video, rather than a batch of attachments.
Pending messages appear in a dedicated section of the chat information screen. Users can review or delete them there before delivery. Deleting a pending message doesn’t notify the recipient, who also can’t see that the sender scheduled it in the first place.
A group-chat catch
WABetaInfo reports that scheduled messages retain end-to-end encryption, but group delivery has a specific limit. A message goes only to people who were members of the group when it was scheduled. Someone who joins afterwards won’t receive it.
That means a queued group update shouldn’t be treated as an announcement guaranteed to reach everyone who belongs to the group on delivery day. If the membership changes between scheduling and sending, newer arrivals miss that message.
Scheduling follows another recent WhatsApp test, Restricted Chat on Android and iOS. The two features address different parts of messaging: one controls when a message goes out, while the other concerns restrictions within a conversation.
The send-button gesture isn’t new to messaging apps. Telegram introduced scheduled messages in September 2019, also using a long press on Send. Its announcement additionally described reminders in Saved Messages; the WhatsApp report doesn’t establish an equivalent reminder mode.
Alongside changes such as Google’s Android search-bar redesign, this is another app update whose availability matters as much as its interface. Installing a compatible WhatsApp beta doesn’t guarantee that the scheduling controls will appear immediately.
Can someone without the feature receive a scheduled message?
Yes. WABetaInfo says recipients can receive scheduled messages even if their accounts don’t yet have the option to send them.
Does this report confirm scheduled messages on iPhone?
No. The reported rollout concerns Android beta testers and doesn’t establish an iPhone release.
