WhatsApp Now Turns Phone Numbers, Dates and Addresses in Chats Into One-Tap Shortcuts
Published: November 11, 2026
WhatsApp is rolling out message text actions on Android and iOS: phone numbers, dates, addresses and email addresses in chats get a dotted underline, and tapping one offers shortcuts to call, save, map or add to your calendar — processed on your device, so encryption is unaffected.
Key Points
— the whole story in 10 seconds- 1Chats now spot useful details — WhatsApp can spot phone numbers, dates, addresses and email addresses inside your chats and turn them into one-tap shortcuts.
- 2A dotted underline marks them — when WhatsApp recognises one of these details in a message, it marks the text with a dotted underline, and tapping it opens a small menu of relevant options.
- 3One tap does the job — a phone number can be copied, saved to contacts or called; a date can be added to your calendar or turned into a new event inside WhatsApp; an address opens in a maps app and an email opens in your mail app.
- 4Processed on your device — the app generates these text actions directly on your device instead of sending your messages to its servers, so end-to-end encryption is not affected.
WhatsApp is rolling out a small change that could save you a lot of copying and pasting. The app can now spot phone numbers, dates, addresses and email addresses inside your chats and turn them into one-tap shortcuts. The feature, called message text actions, is rolling out on the latest versions of WhatsApp for Android and iOS, as reported by feature tracker WABetaInfo and covered by Gizbot on 9 November 2026.
When WhatsApp recognises one of these details in a message, it marks the text with a dotted underline. Tap the underlined text and a small menu of relevant options appears. A phone number can be copied, saved to your contacts or called using your phone carrier. A date or time can be copied, added to your calendar or turned into a new event inside WhatsApp. An address can be copied or opened in a maps app, and an email address can be opened in your mail app — all without selecting the text by hand and switching between apps.
The feature works on both incoming and outgoing messages, according to the reports, so it applies whether a friend sends you a number or you send one yourself. The shortcuts cover the four kinds of information the app can recognise: phone numbers, dates and times, physical addresses and email addresses. If a message contains none of these, nothing changes — the chat looks and works exactly as before, and you can simply ignore an underline and keep reading.
The privacy detail matters as much as the convenience. According to WABetaInfo, as reported by Gizbot, the app generates these text actions directly on your device instead of sending your messages to its servers for processing. That means the feature does not affect WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption, and your private conversations stay protected while the app identifies the details locally to suggest the shortcuts.
Not everyone will see the dotted underlines straight away. The rollout is gradual, and availability may vary depending on your device and app version, even if you are on the latest release. If the feature has not reached your account yet, updating WhatsApp from Google Play or the App Store is the only step you can take, and the underlines should appear once the rollout reaches you.
WhatsApp is also reported to be testing several other changes, including a chat preview that lets you read recent messages by long-pressing a conversation on Android, and an option to share media in its original quality without compression. Those features are still in testing and have not been announced as rolling out, so treat them as things to watch rather than features you can use today. If you use WhatsApp every day, our guide explains how to recover deleted WhatsApp messages if you ever lose an important chat.
What to Do Next
— 4 steps to do right now- Update WhatsApp to the latest version — the feature, called message text actions, is rolling out on the latest versions of WhatsApp for Android and iOS.
- Look for the dotted underline in your chats — when WhatsApp recognises a phone number, date, address or email in a message, it marks the text with a dotted underline.
- Tap the underlined text and pick an option — tap to copy a number, save it to contacts, call it, add a date to your calendar, open an address in maps, or open an email in your mail app.
- If you don't see it yet, wait for the rollout — the rollout is gradual and availability may vary depending on your device and app version, even if you are on the latest release, and updating from Google Play or the App Store is the only step you can take.
FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions
Tap a question to see the answer.
Q What kinds of details does WhatsApp turn into shortcuts? ▾
Four kinds — phone numbers, dates and times, physical addresses and email addresses. If a message contains none of these, nothing changes and the chat looks and works exactly as before.
Q Does this feature read my messages on WhatsApp's servers? ▾
No — the app generates these text actions directly on your device instead of sending your messages to its servers for processing, so it does not affect WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption.
Q Why don't I see the dotted underlines yet? ▾
The rollout is gradual, and availability may vary depending on your device and app version, even if you are on the latest release. The underlines should appear once the rollout reaches you.
