WhatsApp has launched a new feature on 25 April 2023, in which WhatsApp users can use the same WhatsApp account on 4 different phones.
Users can link their phone as one of up to four additional devices, just like when linking with WhatsApp on the web browser and desktop apps. Each linked phone connects to WhatsApp independently, ensuring that personal messages, media and calls are end-to-end encrypted. Also, if the primary device remains idle for a long period of time, users will be automatically logged out of all secondary devices as a security measure.
Note that this feature is currently limited to WhatsApp for Android and as mentioned in our previous article, you need to follow these steps to link your device to an additional phone:
- On your other Android mobile phone, download the latest update for WhatsApp Messenger or WhatsApp Business from the Google Play Store.
- After clicking “Agree and Continue” within the registration screen, tap Menu and you should see the “Link a Device” option at the end.
- Open WhatsApp on your primary device, tap Settings > Linked devices.
- Point this device towards your other mobile phone to capture the QR code.
- When you link your WhatsApp account to a new mobile phone, your chat history will be synced across all your linked devices. Although Collaborative Mode has been released to everyone, some features may not be available, such as the ability to manage broadcast lists and post status updates from linked devices.
Pairing phones as companion devices makes it easy to switch between devices, allowing users to pick up their chats from where they left off. As explained in the official blog post, this feature is especially useful for small business owners, as additional employees can now respond to customers directly from their phones under the same WhatsApp Business account.
official blog post WhatsApp also mentioned that a new alternative and more accessible way to link partner devices will be introduced in the coming weeks. Users will be able to enter their phone number on WhatsApp Web to receive a one-time code, which they can use to enable device linking on their phones instead of scanning the QR code.
Companion is available to all users who install the latest version of WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business, and has started rolling out to users globally in the coming weeks.