WhatsApp notifications could soon include the sender's profile picture

Whatsapp Message Hero (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

What you need to know

Some WhatsApp beta testers report that profile images are appearing as part of incoming notifications.
The profile images require people to be using the latest beta as well as iOS 15.
There is currently no indication of when the feature will be available to all.

The hugely popular instant messaging app WhatsApp looks set to add a new feature that will be popular among almost everyone, although some will not have even realized it doesn't already exist. According to a new report, WhatsApp on iOS will soon begin to display a message sender's profile picture in the recipient's notification.

According to a new WABetaInfo report, those running the latest TestFlight beta and iOS 15 or later are now seeing profile images appear when they receive incoming message notifications. It's a feature that many other apps already offer and it makes not only for a more interesting notification but for a more easily identifiable one, too.

As you can see in this screenshot, WhatsApp has added the support to include profile photos in notifications when you receive new messages from chats and groups. This feature has been released to some beta testers only on iOS 15 since it uses iOS 15 APIs.

It also appears that the change isn't available to everyone, even if they have the correct version of WhatsApp installed. That might suggest that WhatsApp is testing the change with a small pool of users ahead of a wider rollout.

WhatsApp is already one of the best iPhone apps for instant messaging, especially when communicating with an Android user. Changes like this are most welcome, with WhatsApp continuing to improve at a rapid pace. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we can all enjoy this particular change.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.