WhatsApp is adding dotted underlines to phone numbers, dates, addresses and emails in chats, so one tap can call, save or add to a calendar.
WhatsApp is starting to recognize useful details inside your chats and make them tappable. Phone numbers, dates, addresses and email addresses get a dotted underline. Tap one, and a small menu offers things to do with it, like calling, saving a contact or adding a meeting to your calendar. It is rolling out slowly, so you may not see it yet.
The feature works on both incoming and outgoing messages. When WhatsApp spots a supported format, it underlines the text. Tapping it opens a menu that also shows the detected text, so you can check that the app picked up the right thing. The four types covered are:
Some of these actions already existed in WhatsApp. What is new is that they now appear right from the text in a conversation.
For a phone number, you can call it through your mobile carrier, save it to contacts or copy it. It does not automatically start a WhatsApp voice call. For a date, you can add it to your phone's calendar or create an event within WhatsApp, depending on the action available. You can also copy it.
An address can open in a maps app. An email address can open your mail app. The options depend on what WhatsApp recognizes, so the menu changes from one tap to the next. This is not an AI reply tool. It spots familiar text patterns and attaches actions to them.
WABetaInfo, a site that tracks WhatsApp changes, reports that the recognition happens on your phone and that message content is not uploaded to WhatsApp's servers for this feature. It also reports that you can flag a wrong suggestion, and that the flag does not include your message text. These details come from WABetaInfo, not from a statement by Meta, WhatsApp's parent company.
The feature is reaching some people on recent versions of WhatsApp for Android and iPhone. Updating the app does not guarantee you will see it, because access is being switched on gradually. Two people on the same version can see different things. Missing underlines do not mean something is broken.
Recognition has limits. Information that is unclear, incomplete or written in an unusual way may not trigger anything. WABetaInfo has not described any way to turn the feature on early.
Keep WhatsApp updated and wait for the rollout to reach your account. Once the underlines appear, check the detected text in the menu before saving a contact or adding an event.
Keep WhatsApp updated and watch for dotted underlines on numbers and dates; the rollout is gradual and there is no way to turn it on early.
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