WhatsApp Tests Ability to Play Voice Messages Outside of Chat Threads

WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature to users of its beta app that adds the ability to continue listening to a voice message after you've exited the chat thread it was received in.

WhatsApp Global Voice Note player WABetaInfo
WhatsApp has been working on a global voice note player for some time to let users listen to voice messages in the background while navigating around the app.

Currently, if you play a voice note and then exit the chat thread in which the note was received, playback stops. The idea of allowing playback to continue is so that you can still listen to long recordings while composing and reading other messages.

In the latest beta, if you play a voice note and then switch to the WhatsApp home screen or to a different chat thread, a new voice message playback interface appears at the top of the app with buttons to pause, resume, or dismiss the voice note, along with a progress bar.

According to WABetaInfo, the feature has been released to some iOS testers of WhatsApp Beta and WhatsApp Business Beta, but not all, so if you can't listen to voice notes when you exit a chat, sit tight and wait for the next beta update when it should roll out more fully.

It's not known when the global voice note player will go mainstream, but given the feature is now available to both Android and iOS users on the beta, it shouldn't be too long.

This is the second feature WhatsApp has trialed in 2022. Last week it began testing a feature that displays profile pictures in iOS system notifications when users receive new messages from chats and groups.

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 16 New Features

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:33 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models.Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iPhone 17 Air Thumb 2 Blue Electric Boogaloo

iPhone 17 Air's Limited Battery Capacity Leaked

Friday July 18, 2025 12:03 pm PDT by
The battery capacity of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air will be below the 3,000 mAh mark, according to a recent post from Instant Digital, an account with more than 1.4 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Thanks to iOS 26's new Adaptive Power Mode, though, the account said that the iPhone 17 Air should achieve full-day battery life. A previous rumor pegged the iPhone...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Friday July 18, 2025 4:23 am PDT by
Apple is expected to hold its annual iPhone announcement event during the week of September 8, 2025, with September 9 or 10 emerging as the most likely dates. Like the iPhone 16 series, this year's lineup is expected to include four models – but with a twist. The ‌Plus device is being replaced with an all-new ultra-thin model, while the iPhone 17 Pro and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max are set to...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...

Top Rated Comments

Ritmo Avatar
46 months ago

WhatEvs... I prefer iMessage as it is still encrypted as far as I am aware and if not VPN is my failsafe. I wish MacRumours would add a, 'meh' emoji (?) for comment replies to their articles.
You might wanna check your assumptions. If your iMessages go to iCloud they are not encrypted...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soyazul Avatar
46 months ago
the never-ending copy of telegram, by WhatsApp... It reminds me of Microsoft copying constantly to Apple.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otozuz Avatar
46 months ago
Revolutionary
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EmotionalSnow Avatar
46 months ago
One wonders why it took them so long to add this.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
k27 Avatar
46 months ago
And again macrumors promotes WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a messenger that is the opposite of privacy. Facebook gets the metadata through WhatsApp. They usually say more than the content of the messages.
It's bad enough that so many people use this messenger.
Why does macrumors have to promote it as well? How does this fit in with the emphasis on privacy on Apple's site?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
46 months ago
Everything is always in beta with them
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)