WhatsApp Rolls Out New Message Animation on iOS, Some Users Seek to Disable It

Nypost.com reported that WhatsApp implemented a new animation on its iOS version in which sent messages swoop in from the right instead of appearing on screen. The change replaces the prior effect in which messages simply popped up. Users on X described the animation as disorienting.

One stated that WhatsApp’s new message delivery animation on iOS makes them want to puke. Another wrote that the animation is driving them insane, while a third said it was so bad they restarted their phone because they thought something was wrong with it. Additional posts called the effect vertigo-inducing and unhinged.

One user said Zuckerberg really tried to give us all vertigo. Users can turn the animation off by opening WhatsApp, selecting Settings then Appearance, and toggling messages off. Meta, which owns WhatsApp, recently removed a new Instagram AI image feature that automatically opted in photos from all public accounts.

Meta stated that its intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced, but the company heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark so it is no longer available.