08.05.2025
WhatsApp is testing a new feature that allows people to communicate with users over the platform even if they don't have an account. According to WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta
According to WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta for Android contains references to so-called "guest chats," which lets users send a link to an online chat, where the "guest" doesn't have to have an app on their device or even need to be in possession of a WhatsApp account.
To kick off a guest chat, the WhatsApp user has to invite someone from their contacts who doesn't have the app installed and share a chat link. When the recipient opens the link, they're granted access to an online end-to-end encrypted chat with the sender – likely via an interface similar to WhatsApp Web.
As you might expect, there will be a few limitations to guest chats. Users won't be able to share media files like photos and videos, and guest chats won't support voice or video messages – only straight text. The mode will also be strictly one-to-one, so no group chats either.
Further technical details on how the guest chats will be implemented have yet to be made available, but the general idea lines up with parent company Meta's efforts to comply with EU rules on platform interoperability. WhatsApp has been working on the ability to integrate third-party chats from iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, Signal, and others for some time.
It's not clear when guest chats will become generally available, but barring some insurmountable technical hurdle, expect the feature to arrive in a future WhatsApp update for both Android and iOS.
Tag: WhatsApp
This article, "No WhatsApp? No Problem – Guest Chats Are Coming" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
You may also be interested in this
WhatsApp can now replace …
03.28.2025
WhatsApp's latest beta release for iOS lets you replace your iPhone's default Phone and Messages apps with it. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)
Apple: We’d pull iMessage…
07.20.2023
Apple says it would pull services such as iMessage and FaceTime from the UK rather than obliterate customers’ security and privacy if new proposals to destroy end-to-end encryption are made
WhatsApp to Let iPhone Us…
01.27.2025
WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will allow iOS users to log into the encrypted messaging platform through different accounts within the same app, reports WABetaInfo. Previously, the
WhatsApp Now Summarizes Y…
06.26.2025
WhatsApp is making it easier to catch up on conversations you've missed with a new AI-powered feature that summarizes unread messages. The Meta-owned messaging app now lets users tap on
Meta keeps Apple’s AI out…
04.17.2025
In a petty move, Meta blocks access to Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools feature across its apps on iPhone and Mac. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and
WhatsApp Channels feature…
06.08.2023
A new WhatsApp Channels feature gives the impression that the app may be aiming to become a Twitter replacement, at least for announcements by major organizations, public and private. Like
WhatsApp Rolls Out New Fi…
10.02.2024
WhatsApp has announced it is rolling out new filters and backgrounds for users to personalize their video calls. The popular chat platform said the new effects are designed to make
Seven big tech companies …
07.04.2023
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge An important deadline just passed for the biggest tech platform companies in the world to notify the European Union (EU) that they are gatekeepers
