technology news: WhatsApp could finally add one missing feature other messaging apps already have

mardi 31 mars 2020

WhatsApp could finally add one missing feature other messaging apps already have

WhatsApp is easily one of the best and most popular messaging apps on the planet. The Facebook-owned company offers a solid product that billions of people use every single day. But WhatsApp isn't perfect, and one of its biggest pitfalls is the fact that you can't use the app on multiple devices… yet.

According to WABetaInfo, the devs behind WhatsApp will likely introduce this feature in the near future. The folks at WABetaInfo first discovered hints of this feature back in November 2019. While tinkering with the latest WhatsApp beta APK, the team found more evidence of incoming multiple mobile device support. It was able to trigger different event messages referencing multiple device support when a WhatsApp user's encryption keys changed.

Testing
When someone adds a new device in his WhatsApp account, you will be notified because encryption keys change.

Available in future for iOS and Android! pic.twitter.com/WqrM6cRHWW

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) March 24, 2020

If this is true, you might soon be able to use your WhatsApp account on multiple devices like your mobile phone and your tablet. Just for clarification, this is different than using WhatsApp on the web. This new feature would allow users to verify their accounts in the native WhatsApp messaging app on multiple devices.

Since the feature is still under development, it isn't clear how this would work. It could function like WhatsApp web, with one primary device needing to remain online for other apps to connect to. WhatsApp could also allow the app to connect to the service independent of the other apps the way Telegram and Facebook Messenger do.

Though this is pretty exciting news, it comes with its own downfalls. WhatsApp already has an issue with attackers gaining control of victims' accounts via social hacking. This new implementation would come with its own set of security issues, and we hope WhatsApp sorts these out first.

Regardless, the ability to use WhatsApp on multiple smartphones and other portable devices is long overdue. It would be a welcome addition to the service's feature set.

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