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WhatsApp Rolls Out iPhone-Style Contextual Menu to Android Beta

By placing common message actions beside the tapped message, the redesign aims to make message management faster and more consistent for users who switch between Android and iPhone.

Overview

  • WhatsApp began rolling the redesigned contextual message menu to a limited group of Android beta testers on Thursday, June 11, 2026, according to reports from WABetaInfo and India Today.
  • The new menu appears as a floating context menu next to a tapped or long-pressed message and works the same in individual chats and groups, preserving the tap-and-hold gesture users already know.
  • Common actions such as reply, forward, copy, delete, and info are shown up front while less-used options are grouped under a 'More' section to reduce visual clutter and keep focus on the selected message.
  • The update is available only in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.23.8 via the Google Play beta channel and is being distributed to a subset of testers with no official date announced for a stable release.
  • The change follows a multi-year development effort first spotted in 2023 and reflects WhatsApp's broader push for cross-platform UI parity; if testing proceeds normally, the company typically expands beta rollouts in the coming weeks.