Having to wish someone a belated birthday doesn't feel all that nice, especially when it's someone you see pretty often if not everyday. In a time when reminders are front and center, there are practically zero excuses for forgetting important birthdays. Google added the Highlights tab to the Contacts app a few months ago with upcoming birthdays showing up within the tab earlier this month. Now, there's another birthday-related addition coming to Contacts, allowing users to add birthday notifications for each contact.

The feature appears to be rolling out in phases and was first noticed by @AssembleDebug on Twitter, who also shared a couple of screenshots. The Add notification box pictured below appears within a contact's profile, though this box usually only appears on the day of the contact's birthday or a week or two in advance. For instance, Google Assistant also offers a birthday reminder feature in the form of notifications, sometimes appearing a week and a half before the birthday. If you'd still like to add someone's birthday to your notifications, you can alternatively hit the overflow menu and tap "Add birthday notification."

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@AssembleDebug shared that the feature was available in version 4.4.20.516283924, but if it doesn't show up for you just yet, there might be some server-side changes pending. As we learned from Mishaal Rahman, the feature can be enabled manually.

This is one of the many features that have made their way to Contacts since late 2022. Only last week, we saw a new tablet user interface begin rolling out for some users. Also this month, the web version of Contacts finally allowed individuals to edit or create new contacts. While Google appears to be doing quite a bit with Contacts over the past several months, some key apps, such as Google Calendar, continue to miss out on essential features like birthday reminders.

You know where we wouldn't have forgotten a birthday (sometimes to our chagrin)? Facebook. Just saying.

Thanks: Mishaal