WhatsApp users on Android report seeing black shadow on image previews in chat

Android users across different devices have started noticing an odd visual glitch in WhatsApp over the past week or so. A dark shadow or gradient appears on image previews within chats, typically showing up as a black area in the bottom left corner with what looks like a line running through the center of thumbnails.

The issue first caught attention when frustrated users began posting about it on Reddit and various support forums. One Pixel user shared a video demonstrating the problem, worried it might be device-specific.

However, the comments quickly revealed this wasn’t an isolated incident. Users with Pixel 7, 8, 9, and even the latest Pixel 10 models confirmed they were experiencing the same thing. But it’s not just Pixel folks. Even Samsung Galaxy users, Xiaomi owners, and other Android phone users chimed in with identical complaints.

The shadow doesn’t appear to damage the actual photos—when you open images fully or view them outside WhatsApp, they look completely normal. It’s purely a preview issue within the messaging app itself. One user also mentioned they can’t react to images when viewing them in full screen, suggesting the recent WhatsApp update might have introduced multiple bugs.

I tried replicating this on my own device but couldn’t get the glitch to show up. That said, I’m running WhatsApp through the beta channel, which might already have a fix in the works.

If this visual annoyance is really getting under your skin, you could jump onto the beta program for a potential early solution. Though honestly, I’d recommend just waiting it out for the next stable update rather than switching to beta just for this.

The good news is this doesn’t seem to be breaking anything important. Your messages still send, photos still upload, and chats work as they should. It’s just visually distracting. Given how widespread the reports are and that they all started appearing around the same time, WhatsApp will probably push out a fix pretty soon.