WhatsApp begins testing scheduled messages on iPhone
Selected iOS beta testers can schedule texts and media, but no public launch date has been announced.
WhatsApp has begun giving some iPhone beta testers access to message scheduling, according to WABetaInfo. The iOS test follows the feature’s arrival in the Android beta less than two weeks earlier.
WABetaInfo says the scheduling window runs from 10 minutes to two weeks ahead of delivery. To choose a delivery time, testers write a message and hold down the send button, then select the date and time on a scheduling screen. A green confirmation button displays when the message will be sent.
Once a message is scheduled, a notice appears in the conversation that only its sender can see. Pending messages are also listed in a separate area of the information screen for the individual conversation or group.
Group delivery has a restriction: only people who belonged to the group when the sender scheduled the message will receive it, WABetaInfo reports. Members who join afterward are excluded, even if they arrive before delivery.
The test supports text, photos, videos and links. However, photos and videos must each be scheduled individually rather than together. Access remains limited to selected testers, who cannot manually activate the feature if it is unavailable to them. A public rollout date has not been announced.
