The Facebook-owned chat service and messaging platform, WhatsApp is on track to support users simultaneously using their account across multiple devices. This is, of course, while taking all the necessary privacy and security precautions, reports Tech Weez.
Adding multi-device functionality is something WhatsApp’s over 2-billion worldwide users have been requesting for many years, and it finally looks like it’s going to be implemented.
[Tweet “Adding multi-device functionality is something WhatsApp’s over 2-billion worldwide users have been requesting for many years, and it finally looks like it’s going to be implemented.”]
WhatsApp is joining rival messaging app Telegram, a cloud-based service, which already has this feature.
How this will work, according to WEBetaInfo, is when your account is accessed on a non-primary device you will receive a security notification, similar to how email services inform users when their accounts are accessed on unusual devices. Users who use two devices for WhatsApp, such as phone and tablet – or phone and desktop, will now be able to switch their chats seamlessly.
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
Previously, WhatsApp would require users to scan a QR code with their phones to enable multiple device usage.
More New Features
WhatsApp is also testing expiring messages – a self-destruct feature that will let users send a message that disappears forever once a period of time predetermined by the user is elapsed. This would further the protection and privacy that WhatsApp so strictly adheres to.
Just recently, WhatsApp finally released its new dark mode across smartphones from Android to iOS.
COVID-19 and WhatsApp
During the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent crisis, usage of WhatsApp grew by 40% as users try to connect with each other while 20% of the world’s total population self-isolates.
In South Africa, the government is using WhatsApp to spread information about the coronavirus and its effects via a helpline which is available in 5 local languages.
Edited by Luis Monzon
Follow Luis Monzon on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter
