WhatsApp Update: Phone-less multi device support in beta mode

WhatsApp Update: Finally! WhatsApp has just announced its multi-device support without a phone. It is something that all WhatsApp users have been eagerly waiting for. So even though WhatsApp is the most widely used encrypted messaging service in the world with more than two billion users, the service has always lagged behind its rivals in one important area:multi-device compatibility. It left users quite disappointed. The Facebook-owned company has been working on that for a while and has finally started testing multi-device support that will allow users to connect up to four devices, including WhatsApp Web, WhatsApp Desktop, and Facebook Portal.

WhatsApp Phone less Feature: While users could connect to other devices in the past, thecondition was their phones should be connected to the internet all the time. Any interruption in the connection, the user got disconnected. Very frustrating! With the new multi-device beta underway, the company is almost ready to allow users to use WhatsApp independently of their smartphone, the primary device.

WhatsApp phone less feature in beta mode: WhatsApp said, the new multi-device support is being tested in a limited public beta that began rolling out Wednesday.

WhatsApp's phone-free feature takes on its rivals: New multi-device support gives WhatApp the same capability as its rival, private and open-source encrypted messenger Signal, which allows users to connect additional desktop clients to their mobile app. However, both services are currently unable to link another phone, something that Telegram already offers.

Know about WhatsApp's new multi-device mode that is currently in beta testing mode on Android and iOS devices:

WhatsApp multi-device support: Advantages: Using the older system of connecting WhatsApp Web, WhatsApp Desktop, and Facebook Portal to a smartphone, the company says the service suffers from issues such as slower performance and frequent disconnections. It can also drain the battery and users can also lose messages because the app kills in the background. Similarly, once multi-device support is enabled, add-on apps can finally handle calls and video chats, while users can check their messages on the phone simultaneously, says the company.

WhatsApp end-to-end encryption with multi-device support: One of the biggest questions users may have about the new multi-device support is whether end-to-end encryption will work properly - the company says it has developed new technologies to ensure messages can be synced across multiple devices, while you have to maintain end-to-end encryption, something only Signal has been able to manage until now when it introduced support for desktop apps almost four years back.

"To achieve this, we had to rethink WhatsApp's architecture and design new systems to enable a standalone multi-device experience while preserving privacy and end-to-end encryption. Each message is individually encrypted using the established pairwise encryption session with each device. Messages are not stored on the server after they are delivered,"says the company.

How to access the multi-device beta version of WhatsApp: WhatsApp says it does not have a specific date for the final release of the new multi-device support for all users, but it has started testing it among a limited number of users who are running the latest beta versions of WhatsApp for iOS and Android. Users can try signing up for the beta version of the app using our handy guide here, or wait a couple of months when the company plans to slowly start testing the feature with a small number of users who are running the stable version of the app.