Overview
- WhatsApp’s holiday features are live on current Android and iOS versions, adding a 2026 sticker pack, fireworks/confetti/star effects on video calls, animated confetti reactions, and special animated Status layouts.
- For the first time, animated stickers are available in Status via a dedicated 2026 layout designed for New Year updates.
- Animated confetti reactions return when users react with party-themed emojis, bringing a full-screen celebratory animation to chats.
- The company underscores New Year’s as its busiest 24 hours, building on more than 100 billion messages and about 2 billion calls sent on an average day, and it highlights events, polls and live location for group planning.
- India’s CERT-In issued a high-severity ‘GhostPairing’ advisory on a device-linking exploit that can enable account takeover, urging users to be cautious with unsolicited links and fake verification pages.