WhatsApp is testing animated message bubbles on iPhone through a new TestFlight beta, bringing back a feature the app previously removed and pairing it this time with a dedicated setting so users can disable it. The change was spotted by WABetaInfo in WhatsApp for iOS version 26.24.10.70.
Rather than appearing statically, message bubbles in the new beta now fade in while slightly scaling up as they settle into the conversation. The effect replaces what had become a flat, unanimated appearance after the original animation was removed in an earlier update. The reintroduction uses a different style from what was there before, and the addition of an explicit toggle signals that Meta is aware some users prefer no animation at all.
That toggle appears under Settings > Chats > Animations as a new “Messages” switch, sitting alongside existing controls for Emoji, Stickers, and GIFs. WhatsApp now offers per-type animation control across all four major categories of moving content in a conversation.
Part of a broader iOS push
The animated message bubbles feature arrived in WhatsApp’s Android beta roughly one week earlier, in early June 2026, following a pattern that iPhone users will recognise from other WhatsApp rollouts this year. The iOS TestFlight version is currently available to only a subset of testers, and WhatsApp has not announced a public release date.
The feature lands in the middle of what has been a significant period of change for WhatsApp on iPhone. Meta’s updates to the app in 2026 alone include:
- A Liquid Glass redesign, initially tested in October 2025 and rolled out more broadly in May 2026, covering the bottom navigation bar, voice message player, in-chat interface, message reactions, and context menus
- A revamped chat lists interface, which began rolling out on June 3, 2026
- Multi-account support on iPhone, which arrived June 11, 2026
- WhatsApp Plus, a paid subscription launched in May 2026 at €2.49 per month in Europe, offering premium sticker packs with fullscreen overlay animations and 18 accent colours
Meta is also working to bring the Liquid Glass look to the WhatsApp Mac app, according to WABetaInfo, extending the redesign effort beyond iPhone.
With animated message bubbles now in testing on both iOS and Android, a wider rollout appears close. The decision to include an opt-out toggle this time suggests Meta took note of the friction that came from removing the original animation without warning, and it is a small but telling sign of how much more deliberately WhatsApp is managing its iPhone interface in 2026.
