Ever find yourself having to flip between your work and personal phone depending on if you want to send WhatsApp messages to either friends or colleagues?
Well such an onerous task will soon no longer be needed.
That’s because Meta, the parent company behind WhatsApp, has revealed that users will now be able to log into two accounts at the same time when using a single phone.
Some may even see it as the perfect addition to the cheater’s armoury, because it will allow someone to secretly message from an alternative WhatsApp account without being 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 will now be able to log into two accounts at the same time when using a single phone
It will be rolled out to Android users in the coming weeks, while iPhone users will have to wait and have been told to ‘stay tuned’.
To set up a second account once the feature is launched, users will need a second phone number and SIM card, or a phone that accepts multi-SIM or eSIM.
Once equipped with this, you then have to open your WhatsApp settings, click on the arrow next to your name, and select ‘Add account’.
There is also the option to set different privacy and notification settings on 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 would include revamped colours and new buttons, although the leaker site WABetaInfo said the changes may vary depending on the device you own.
Conversation filters that give users the power to categorise their messages into ‘All’, ‘Unread’, ‘Personal’ and ‘Business’ were 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 interface of the app by bringing a redesign,’ WABetaInfo said.
Other potential 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 re vamped colours and new buttons
Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the new feature on his Facebook page this morning
‘The redesign includes revamped buttons for the navigation bar, that will make the interface more modern.
‘In addition, WhatsApp also intends to add a filter row that will let users sort their chats using two filters: personal conversations and business chats.’
While many features are still in the development stages, sources claimed that some are being tested on WhatsApp Beta — a program that allows users to try out features before they are released more widely.
Images also hint that new colours have been more widely tested on iOS versions of WhatsApp, with notifications, time stamps and tabs switched from blue to a more brand appropriate shade of green.
For now, however, users will have to make do with the latest double-account feature.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
