WhatsApp testing ‘Guest Chats’ to message people without an account, feature spotted in beta
WhatsApp is testing a handy new way for reaching people who haven’t joined the app yet, through Guest Chats. According to feature tracker WABetaInfo, select Android and iOS beta users can now generate invite links to start text conversations with non-WhatsApp users, without forcing them to sign up or download the app.
Here’s how it seems to work. From the app’s “Invite a friend” section or the bottom of your contacts list, you can create a secure link and share it via SMS, email, or anywhere else. The recipient clicks it on their phone or desktop browser, and joins a temporary chat session marked with a “Guest” label. They can send and receive plain text messages, all protected by WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption via a unique identifier generated for that session. You can block guests just like regular contacts, too.
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But it’s not a full WhatsApp experience. No groups, no media sharing (photos, videos, docs, stickers, GIFs), no voice/video messages or calls. Chats auto-expire after 10 days of inactivity, so you’d need a fresh link to pick up where you left off. The feature has been reportedly in development since October 2025, and while it’s still beta-exclusive, a wider rollout could come soon.
WhatsApp dominates the messaging game with over two billion users, but not everyone has it. Guest Chats lowers that barrier for simple text exchanges, much like Telegram’s web links for non-users or Signal’s username-based invites that skip phone numbers. Telegram lets anyone join channels or chats via links without an account for basic viewing, but full messaging needs signup. Signal needs a phone number to sign up, but its usernames let you chat by sharing just a username or QR code instead of your number. iMessage and RCS on Android handle cross-platform better now, but WhatsApp’s scale makes this a big deal in markets like India where it’s the default for everything.
If you’re in business or frequently message app-averse contacts, keep an eye on this beta. Compared to switching apps, it keeps everything in WhatsApp’s familiar (and encrypted) fold, but it’s not for ongoing convos. However, if you need media or calls, one may need to shift to Telegram for more flexible guest access. For meta, this could nudge more people towards full WhatsApp adoption once they get the app experience for themselves.
