- Will be useful for people who want to switch between work and personal accounts
- To set up a second account you will need a second phone number and a SIM card
Have you ever noticed that you have to switch between your work and home phone depending on whether you want to send WhatsApp messages to friends or colleagues?
Well, soon such an arduous task will no longer be necessary.
That’s because Meta, the parent company behind WhatsApp, has revealed that users can now log into two accounts at the same time when using one phone.
Some might even see it as the perfect addition to the cheater’s arsenal, as it allows someone to secretly send messages from an alternate WhatsApp account without getting caught with a second so-called ‘burner’ phone.
Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the new feature on his Facebook page this morning.
New feature: Meta, the parent company behind WhatsApp, has revealed that users can now log into two accounts at once when using one phone
It will be rolled out to Android users in the coming weeks, while iPhone users will have to wait and be told to ‘stay tuned’.
To set up a second account once the feature launches, users will need a second phone number and SIM card, or a phone that accepts multi-SIM or eSIM.
Once equipped, you’ll then need to open your WhatsApp settings, click the arrow next to your name and select ‘Add account’.
There is also the option to set different privacy and notification settings for each account.
The announcement comes just weeks after it was suggested that WhatsApp was planning to make a number of other major changes to its platform.
Insiders claimed last month that the makeover revamped colors and new buttons, although the leaky site WABetaInfo said the changes may vary depending on the device you own.
Conversation filters that allow users to categorize their messages into ‘All’, ‘Unread’, ‘Personal’ and ‘Business’ are also said to have been included in recent iPhone and Android tests.
“We are very happy to announce that WhatsApp is finally working on improving the app’s interface with a new design,” WABetaInfo said.
Other possible changes: The announcement comes just weeks after it was suggested that WhatsApp was planning to make a number of other major changes to its platform. Insiders claimed last month that the makeover would include updated colors and new buttons
Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the new feature on his Facebook page this morning
‘The new design includes updated buttons for the navigation bar, which will make the interface more modern.
“In addition, WhatsApp also plans to add a filter row that will allow users to sort their chats by two filters: personal conversations and business chats.”
While many features are still in the development stages, sources claim that some are being tested on WhatsApp Beta – a program that allows users to try out features before their wider release.
Images also show that new colors have been tested more widely on iOS versions of WhatsApp, with notifications, timestamps and tabs switching from blue to a more on-brand shade of green.
For now, though, users will have to make do with the latest dual account feature.