WhatsApp is developing an in-app browser for iPhone that would open any link shared in a chat inside the app, WABetaInfo reported on October 19. The site found the feature in WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.41.10.72 on TestFlight. It is not yet available to beta testers, and WhatsApp has not announced it.
WABetaInfo says WhatsApp will make the browser available to some beta testers in a future update. No public release date has been given.
Links would open without leaving the conversation
Tapping a link in a chat would load the page inside the conversation screen instead of switching to Safari or another browser. According to WABetaInfo, the browser runs in a session separate from the chat. The three-dot menu would still open the page in your default browser.
WABetaInfo describes this as an expansion of an earlier feature that covered only certain business links. That version appeared in iOS beta 25.14.10.72 in May 2025, and WABetaInfo says it reached the Android beta first. Sites had to use HTTPS and meet other technical requirements, and WhatsApp applied its own business criteria, so some businesses were left out. The October 19 report does not say whether that version has since reached everyone.
A setting would turn it on and clear its data
Users would turn the browser on from an "In-app browser" option in WhatsApp’s settings. A bottom sheet would explain the feature the first time it is enabled. A Browser settings section would let people clear cookies and cache from sites they opened in WhatsApp, and they could restore the default browser at any time.
The privacy claims come from WABetaInfo
WABetaInfo says WhatsApp cannot see the links shared in a conversation, and that neither WhatsApp nor Apple can see which links users open. It also says browsing data is stored on the device, as it is in Safari. WhatsApp has not confirmed any of it.
It follows a run of WhatsApp changes to chats and links
WhatsApp has been changing the iPhone chat screen this month. A Liquid Glass menu in the chat header began rolling out on October 9, and its shortcuts include media, links, and docs. On October 14, WhatsApp launched guest calling, where a host shares a call link and people without an account join from a computer browser.
WhatsApp has set no timeline for the browser
The report covers WhatsApp for iOS and does not mention Android. The gap between a build and a rollout can be short. The Liquid Glass progress bar for the video player was in development in an August beta and not available to testers, and WABetaInfo reported it rolling out on October 6, less than two months later. WhatsApp has given no schedule for the browser.
The report does not describe any warning for suspicious links. WhatsApp’s scam tools so far, such as the alerts it has tested when you message someone who is not in your contacts, apply to contacts and groups. If the browser opens every link in a chat, the first thing to check when it ships is whether it warns you about risky pages.
