WhatsApp Starts Testing New Self-Message Feature for iOS and Android

WhatsApp is testing a new feature in its latest beta build for iOS and Android that adds official support for texting yourself on the popular instant messaging and communications platform, as reported by WABetaInfo.

Users could already text themselves using direct chat links, a feature that came out last month. The latest WhatsApp beta simply adds official support for the feature, complete with a way to message yourself from right within the app.

On the latest beta build, users can see their own number among their WhatsApp contacts with a description that reads, “Message Yourself.”

WhatsApp is testing the new self-texting feature with select beta testers on both iOS and Android.

In addition to seeing your own number as a contact in WhatsApp, any messages you send to it will now also sync faster and better with other devices if you’re using WhatsApp’s multi-device feature, since texting yourself is no longer an unsupported feature.

Self-texting support is currently available on version 22.23.0.70 of the WhatsApp beta for iOS and version 2.22.24.2 of the WhatsApp beta for Android. These updates also bring layout changes for images, videos, GIFs, or documents that are forwarded with a caption.

A previous WhatsApp beta increased the maximum number of participants for chat groups to 1,024 (from 512).

Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of WhatsApp’s parent company Meta, claimed the platform is far more private and secure than Apple’s iMessage.

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