WhatsApp, the world’s largest mobile messaging platform, has introduced a new feature that allows users to use the same WhatsApp account on multiple phones. This feature has been highly anticipated by users, and now up to four additional devices can be linked to the same account, just like on web browsers, tablets, and desktops. Each linked phone connects to WhatsApp independently, ensuring that personal messages, media, and calls are end-to-end encrypted. If the user’s primary device is inactive for a long period, WhatsApp will log the user out of all companion devices automatically.
This latest feature makes messaging easier, as users can switch between phones without signing out and pick up chats where they left off. It is also practical for small business owners, as additional employees can respond to customers directly from their phones under the same WhatsApp Business account.
Moreover, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption strategy is geared toward preparing the company for cross-competition and pressure from alternative platforms like Snapchat and Twitter, which could pose a threat to its dominance. In the last six months, Twitter, under its new owner Elon Musk, has made radical changes to its business model, and there seems to be no limit to how far he could go to ensure Twitter is cost-effective and gains a wider user base like Facebook and WhatsApp. From a marketing perspective, WhatsApp’s impressions and usage are expected to increase, thereby gaining more revenue from its advertising and promotional offerings.