WhatsApp just announced that it’ll soon let users add contacts from any device, and not just a primary phone, thus solving one of life’s little annoyances. A forthcoming update will let people add and manage contacts via the web client, on a Windows PC and “eventually other linked devices.”
Users will also be able to save a contact exclusively to WhatsApp without syncing to a phone, which is useful when sharing a handset with others or for those who manage both work and personal WhatsApp accounts on the same device. Meta says that this will also solve the problem of people losing all of their contacts when they misplace a phone, as the contacts will be fully restorable.
Even better? The company says this is the first step toward what many consider the “holy grail” of potential improvements. WhatsApp is getting usernames, so you won’t have to save someone’s information via a phone number. Meta says this will “add an extra degree of privacy” since you can share a username without sharing a phone number.
The multi-device contacts tool is rolling out gradually “over the coming weeks and months.” There’s no ETA on dedicated usernames. WhatsApp has been busy lately, in light of crossing an audience retention milestone. The app recently unveiled enhanced video calling and passkey support on iOS.
English (US) ·