WhatsApp Replaces Settings Icon With New Profile Tab

[MacRumors]

WhatsApp is rolling out a redesigned tab bar on iOS that swaps out the familiar Settings gear icon for a new "You" tab featuring your profile photo. The change is arriving with version 26.10.73, which is now available on the App Store.

The tab itself still opens the same account and privacy controls. The main reason for the switch is that Meta is laying the groundwork for multi-account support.

Meta has been developing multi-account functionality for WhatsApp for some time, and the profile tab is a clear step toward that goal. The idea is that users will eventually be able to manage separate personal and business profiles from a single device, tapping the profile icon to switch between them.

In that sense, showing your profile picture in the navigation bar makes it immediately obvious which account is active – an approach that appears to have been borrowed straight from Instagram.

Image credit: WABetaInfo​

WhatsApp is also testing a default cover photo banner at the top of the profile page, but users can't customize it yet.

Not every user will see the change right away. WhatsApp's feature rollouts are typically gradual, so don't be surprised if your Settings gear hangs around a little while longer.

Article Link: WhatsApp Replaces Settings Icon With New Profile Tab

 

[jdavid_rp]

Okay but when are we getting Liquid Glass for everyone?

 

[n-evo]

I’ve had this for at least two months now.

Really annoying there’s still no support for multiple numbers.

 

[mystery hill]

I’ve had this for at least two months now.

Really annoying there’s still no support for multiple numbers.

I can add another account by tapping and holding on the ‘You’ icon, or by going to the Account section.

 

[n-evo]

I can add another account by tapping and holding on the ‘You’ icon, or by going to the Account section.

As of yet not working here.

 

[GuilleA]

It's incredibly frustrating how a company like Meta, with every resource available on the planet, still takes like a year to release a stupid update like Liquid Glass to everyone. Why do they think they need to A/B test and roll it out so slowly? Nothing is going to break, it's part of the iOS dev pipeline FFS.

 

[kevcube]

idk, telegram rolls out features all at once and doesn't bug me to enter my pin every 16 hours. f WhatsApp

 

[Seanm87]

Okay but when are we getting Liquid Glass for everyone?

Apparently all developers have to update their apps by end of April.

 

[EllZ89]

this is somehow to do with apple, or more importantly.... MAC rumours?

 

[jdavid_rp]

Apparently all developers have to update their apps by end of April.

Really? Seems quite early to be deprecating and removing altogether the “classic” style

 

[sflagel]

In case someone at Meta reads this: build a fully stand-alone WhatsApp app for the Apple Watch instead. The whole point of an Apple Watch is not having to carry an iPhone; but I still do only because WhatsApp does not work on a Cellular Apple Watch without the phone.

 

[Lunarman25]

Big news!

 

[sw1tcher]

It's incredibly frustrating how a company like Meta, with every resource available on the planet, still takes like a year to release a stupid update like Liquid Glass to everyone. Why do they think they need to A/B test and roll it out so slowly? Nothing is going to break, it's part of the iOS dev pipeline FFS.

They were too focused on their metaverse, Horizon Worlds. After wasting nearly $100 billion on the project, they're shutting it down in June.

Meta will shut down VR Horizon Worlds access in June

The VR version of Meta's Horizon Worlds platform is shutting down on June 15 as the company focuses its attention on its mobile app.

www.engadget.com

Horizon Worlds, Meta's first pass at a metaverse, will be inaccessible via virtual reality headset after June 15, 2026. The company shared plans to separate Horizon Worlds from Quest VR platform and focus exclusively on the smartphone version of the app in February, and now in a new post on its community forums, Meta detailed when the VR version of Horizon Worlds will be deprecated.

By March 31, Meta says individual Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer be listed in the Quest's Store and headset owners will be unable to visit worlds like "Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju and Bobber Bay." Then, after June 15, the app will be removed from Quest headsets and worlds will be completely unavailable to visit in VR. From that point on, the easiest place to visit Horizon Worlds will be in the Meta Horizon app for iOS and Android.


Maybe now they can divert some resources and focus their attention on Liquid (Gl)assing their iOS apps.

What are all those VR headset owners going to do now?

 

[DaveTheRave]

this is somehow to do with apple, or more importantly.... MAC rumours?

Because WhatsApp runs circles around iMessage, especially when it comes to groups. And Apple should try harder to improve arguably its most important app.

 

[xDENTALPLANx]

Can anyone explain why the “Chats” tab (i.e. the tab that everyone is using the app for) is the 4th out of 5 tabs at the bottom?

It’s the strangest design choice I’ve ever seen in a mainstream app.

 

[Adam-Jobs]

this is somehow to do with apple, or more importantly.... MAC rumours?

You must be new here. Welcome.

 

[svish]

Good to know about the changes. Though I don’t use the app much, it will be good to have multiple accounts on a single device.

 

[Xade]

I wish they would just leave it alone!

 

[LFO8]

Astounding that, after all, people still use anything owned or created by that toxic company.

 

[Populus]

I’ve had this feature on my WhatsApp for at least one month. However, it still hasn’t gotten the Liquid Glass design.

On the other hand, my alt account with WhatsApp Business does indeed have the Liquid Glass UI, but still has that gear icon. Interesting…

Do you know if WhatsApp is a web-based app wrapped in a container, à la electron or capacitor? Because many changes don’t appear in the moment I install or update the app, but rather when I open it up for the second or third time…

 

[fede777]

If they could stop moving the Chats icon from the 1st to 4th place every couple of days, that'd be great.

 

[Populus]

Now WhatsApp is annoyingly asking me to give it access to my contacts… after tapping to make it disappear, it keeps appearing every time I exit from a chat to the chats list.