WhatsApp is working on a feature that allows users to chat on the same account across multiple phones, or even on both a tablet and phone as per the screen that was discovered in a test version of the app on the website WABetaInfo. The screen provides instructions to register the device that you’re using as a “companion “companion” by scanning a code using your primary phone — although at the moment there’s not an actual code that you can scan.
A screen that was found in a previous beta indicated that WhatsApp devices might be able to transfer messages from the past even though they’re encrypted. The screen, when combined and a “Register Device as Companion” screen that teaches users what to do to access WhatsApp on other devices is convincing proof that the feature may be currently working.
Both screens can be found on The Android Version of the app, which indicates that the feature can support the use of a second tablet or phone. It’s not clear at the moment whether the feature will be accessible on iOS if it is launched, but there’s evidence suggesting that it will. WhatsApp technically allows you to use your account across multiple devices through its Linked devices feature that currently allows the use of computers as second devices. The feature is available for both iOS as well as Android.
WhatsApp released Linked Devices as a public beta in November 2021 and has been improving the feature since then (though it’s unsupported features depending on what your primary phone is). While Linked Devices is handy for users on desktops, it can’t provide much value for users who have additional tablets or smartphones. Meta the parent company of WhatsApp did not immediately respond to The Verge‘s request for more details regarding its plans to extend its Linked Devices feature to support mobile devices too.