WhatsApp may soon replace the Communities tab on iOS

Some WhatsApp beta testers on iOS are seeing a new option in the app’s bottom navigation bar that replaces the Communities tab. Here are the details.

Out with Communities, in with Contacts

Over the past few years, WhatsApp has increasingly focused on Communities as more people have turned to messaging platforms to interact in smaller, more private groups rather than through traditional social networks.

At the same time, WhatsApp has been testing several features that make it easier for users to see which of their contacts are online and available to chat.

Back in May, WABetaInfo found that WhatsApp was developing a new Contacts hub that would bring together users’ favorite contacts, as well as those who were currently online or had recently been active.

A few weeks later, WhatsApp began testing a new green dot indicator on iOS to make it easier to identify contacts who were online.

Now, WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp is rolling out the new Contacts hub to some iOS beta testers, replacing the Communities tab in the app’s bottom navigation bar.

From WABetaInfo:

The new tab includes a section with favorite contacts and a full contact list. Users can see their favorite contacts at the top of the screen, making it easier to start a conversation with them. They can also sort the full contact list by activity, alphabetical, and birthdays. With alphabetical, the app organizes contacts by name. With activity, WhatsApp shows who is currently online at the top of the list. WhatsApp marks these contacts with a green dot, so users can easily distinguish them from offline contacts. WhatsApp also sorts recently active contacts by last seen, so users can quickly identify who was active most recently. With birthdays, WhatsApp sorts contacts by their upcoming birthday, so users can see who has a birthday coming up soon.

The site notes that the new tab also allows users to add contacts directly, with the option to sync them to their iPhone’s address book.

As for Communities, the feature itself isn’t going away, but rather being moved to a dedicated filter in the Chats tab.

WABetaInfo also notes that WhatsApp is experimenting with potentially replacing the Updates tab, rather than Communities, with the Contacts tab in a future configuration.

For now, the new Contacts tab is available to a limited number of beta testers running the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS via TestFlight, with a broader rollout expected over the coming weeks.

To read WABetaInfo’s full report, follow this link.