WhatsApp Now Lets You Use The Same Account Across Multiple Devices
WhatsApp is finally bringing a long-requested feature to millions of users worldwide. In a post on the official WhatsApp Blog, the company confirmed that it is rolling out a feature allowing the use of the same WhatsApp account across multiple devices.
This new capability is an extension of a similar feature WhatsApp introduced in 2021. Back then, the company had rolled out a feature allowing WhatsApp users to link up to four non-phone devices without needing them to be tied to a primary smartphone. However, a significant limitation of this feature was that all four devices could not be a smartphone. That limitation has effectively been removed with the newest update.
In its latest blog post, WhatsApp has confirmed that users would soon be able to log in to multiple smartphones using the same number. Seasoned WhatsApp users will know that the messaging client logs users out of one smartphone if a login with the same number is detected on a different smartphone.
Once the new feature rolls out in the next few days, this annoyance will be a thing of the past. While WhatsApp's auto-logout feature was generally seen as a privacy enabler, it also caused a lot of issues when people needed to switch between devices. Besides, the advent of WhatsApp Business accounts also meant that access to the same number for multiple employees was a feature that could simplify things and also result in faster response times.
Not yet open to all WhatsApp users
While WhatsApp is yet to detail the steps needed to enable multi-smartphone login, it will likely be similar to the existing login process that uses QR codes. However, Meta has already indicated that it is working to introduce a revamped method of linking companion devices that would remove the QR code from the equation. Instead, the process would involve receiving a one-time security code for a secure login.
The blog post also makes it clear that the multi-phone login feature is still being rolled out to users across the globe. What isn't entirely clear is how soon the entire set of WhatsApp users will receive the update. Another thing that needs clarification is if this feature is platform agnostic, and works across different platforms. For example, would the feature still work if the primary smartphone is an Android device and the linked smartphone is an iPhone, or vice versa?
While we should receive definitive answers to these questions in the next few weeks, there is no denying that WhatsApp users across the globe will largely welcome this new set of features.