WhatsApp tests moving Channels into the Chats tab and dropping the Updates tab
An Android beta now asks whether you want Channels in your chat list or archived. A new Contacts tab is expected to take the Updates tab's place.
WhatsApp is reshuffling its main screen again. A test build for Android has started moving Channels into the Chats tab, and the plan is for the Updates tab, which currently holds Status and Channels, to go away entirely.
The change was spotted by WABetaInfo, a site that tracks the app’s beta releases, in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.39.1. On iPhone, the feature is still under development and hasn’t reached beta testers yet.
What changes
Right now, if you follow channels from news outlets, sports teams, brands or creators, you have to switch to the Updates tab to see what they posted. In the test build, people who already follow a channel get a prompt with two choices:
- Move Channels into the chat list, where they sit alongside your conversations with friends and groups;
- Archive Channels automatically, keeping the main list for conversations only.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is testing three different layouts for showing channels inside the Chats tab and will pick the final one based on how those tests go. Which version wins is still an open question.
What about Status?
Status has been heading this way for a while. Since beta 2.26.17.1, status updates appear at the top of the chat list for quicker access. Once both Status and Channels live in the Chats tab, the Updates tab has nothing left to do.
A Contacts tab takes its place
The freed-up spot in the bottom bar is expected to go to a new Contacts tab. WABetaInfo says the idea is to show who is active right now and who was online recently, giving contacts a dedicated space in the app.
That feature is still in development and isn’t available to testers. The tab swap depends on WhatsApp first finishing the move of Status and Channels.
Why WhatsApp is doing this
Channels launched in 2023 and got the Updates tab alongside Status. Since then, people who don’t use Channels have had an almost empty tab in the app, while those who do had to keep jumping between screens. Folding everything into Chats makes WhatsApp look more like Telegram, where channels and chats have always shared one list.
There is money involved too. In June 2025, Meta announced ads in Status, paid channel subscriptions and promoted channels, all inside the Updates tab, while promising that private chats would stay ad-free. Moving Status and Channels into the most-used tab in the app widens the reach of those features.
When it reaches everyone
There’s no date. Features that show up in beta can change a lot before launch, or never ship at all. If you want to try it early, you can attempt to join the WhatsApp beta program from the app’s Google Play page, although spots are usually full.
