WhatsApp is making online status easier to spot on iPhone, but only for some beta testers right now.
According to WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.26.10.72 adds a small green dot to show when a contact is active. The feature is rolling out through TestFlight and is not available to everyone yet.
The dot appears on a contact’s profile photo inside the chat info screen. You can reach that screen by tapping the contact’s name at the top of a conversation. For now, WhatsApp is not showing the dot in the main chat list or inside the conversation view.
The privacy rules still matter
The green dot does not make every contact easier to track. WABetaInfo says it follows WhatsApp’s existing last seen and online privacy settings, so it should not appear for people who hide their online status.
That detail matters because the indicator makes presence more visible at a glance. WhatsApp has been testing more convenience features lately, including a unified AI summary for unread messages, but online visibility is more sensitive than a shortcut for catching up on chats.
It also fits into WhatsApp’s wider privacy balancing act. Meta recently added Incognito Chat for WhatsApp and Meta AI, while this beta feature goes the other way: it makes a status that already exists easier to notice.
It is still a limited test
WABetaInfo says the green dot is available to some iOS beta testers and should reach more accounts over the coming weeks. A small number of App Store users may also see it as part of limited testing.
WhatsApp has not announced when the green dot will roll out to all iPhone users. Like most beta features, it could change before a wider release.
