WhatsApp is already a leader in instant messaging, and lately it’s been working to get even better. For a few years now, Meta has been trying to make WhatsApp usable across multiple devices at once. First a web interface came early, andthe ability to use accounts with secondary devicesfollowed suit.WhatsApp multi devicehas so far supported using the same account on one primary device and up to four other linked devices, and now you’re finally getting the freedom to include as many additional smartphones as you like among them.
For the uninitiated, it took WhatsApp a completeground-up redesignof its underlying architecture to let a smartphone be one of the four linked devices per account. For a while now, it has limited even beta users to using just one smartphone as a linked device, besides their primary handset. Workarounds leveragingCompanion mode designed for tabletshave been used with reasonable success, but the undoing of this limitation has been a long time coming.
WhatsApp recentlyremoved the limitation for all beta users, and now, stable channel users can alsoenjoy the convenienceof using one WhatsApp account on any combination of smartphones, computers, and Android tablets. There’s just two surviving quirks: you’re able to only have four linked devices, and none of them can be an iPad. At least, while there’s no native iPad app support, you could always use a web login on the tablet’s browser as a workaround.
With the redesigned architecture, every linked device communicates with WhatsApp servers independently to keep chats synced. This also means your primary smartphone needs to come online at least once every 30 days to keep the linked devices operational, but can remain switched off otherwise. Meta promises end-to-end encryption remains available, no matter which device is used to access an account.
Anyone juggling multiple smartphones (i.e. most of us here at AP) should find this incredibly useful, as all of them can now access the same WhatsApp account. Multi-device combined withself-messagingis also rather handy if you want totransfer files between your linked devices. Meta further explains that small businesses could benefit because team members can use the same WhatsApp Business account to tackle multiple customer queries simultaneously.
Meta also touches upon a new QR-free way to link new devices to your account, headed our way in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, multi-phone support is already rolling out, and should go global on a similar timeframe. While this is a step in the right direction, you might want totemper your expectations. Linked smartphonesdon’t workexactlylike the primary one, and we’re all going to have to get used to just what is and isn’t possible with this new WhatsApp experience.
