WhatsApp is building a way to change the six emoji that pop up when you long-press a message. WABetaInfo found a “Default reactions” setting in WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.32.10.16 on TestFlight, and it lets you swap any of the default reactions for an emoji of your choice.
The feature is still under development. It is not switched on for beta testers yet, and there is no release date.
How the custom tray would work
Today, every WhatsApp user sees the same reaction tray: thumbs up, red heart, tears of joy, surprised face, crying face, and folded hands. If you want anything else, you tap the plus button and hunt through the keyboard each time.
The new setting changes that at the source. According to the report, you can replace any of the six with any emoji from the keyboard, change as many of them as you like, and restore the original set from settings whenever you want. So if you keep reacting with the fire or skull emoji, they can sit in the tray instead of the folded hands you never touch.
It looks like a WhatsApp Plus perk
WABetaInfo says the custom tray is meant for WhatsApp Plus subscribers as part of the second batch of premium features. That comes from references in the beta, not from a WhatsApp announcement, so treat it as the likely plan rather than a confirmed one.
WhatsApp Plus is the optional subscription that rolled out on Android in April and reached iPhone in May, priced at $2.99 a month in the U.S. with different rates elsewhere. The first set of perks was all cosmetic: app themes, alternate icons, premium stickers, extra ringtones, and pinning up to 20 chats instead of three. A personal reaction tray fits that same pattern.
Messaging, calls, and end-to-end encryption stay free, and nothing about how reactions work for everyone else changes.
Android is on the same track
Android got there first. WABetaInfo spotted the same reaction tray in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.29.3 back in July, also under development and also tied to WhatsApp Plus. The iOS sighting suggests WhatsApp is lining both apps up before it turns the feature on.
It also lands in the same week WABetaInfo found animated chat themes for iOS in the beta, so WhatsApp is clearly leaning into customization on iPhone right now. If you are on the TestFlight beta, do not expect the setting to show up in this build. WhatsApp usually enables features like this in a later update once development wraps.
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