WhatsApp has recently been renewed by introducing reactions, the ability to send files up to 2GB and to create groups with up to 512 people. To be honest, the news is so recent that the rollout is still in progress, and not everyone has yet had access to these expected features. Another tool (more than) expected by users is the multi-device, and WABetaInfo updates us on the situation.
The function unearthed in the meanders of the WhatsApp code is called Companion Mode: it is obviously not yet available to anyone, not even for subscribers to the beta testing program of the app. At the moment it is still hidden, and if all goes well (translated: if development continues smoothly) it will be released in beta in an upcoming update on the Play Store and App Store and, subsequently, also on the stable channel.
THE FIRST SIGNALS AT THE END OF APRIL
In fact, something had already been seen towards the end of April : on that occasion we had defined the function as a sort of multi-device support in version 2.0 . Now new details and information emerge that help us better understand the mechanism.
For example, we know that WhatsApp is working to allow a second smartphone to connect to your account to use the platform on more than one device at the same time (already a concrete possibility in the case of smartphone + desktop client, but in this case we are talking about two mobile devices).
The Companion Mode identified in this case allows the second device to connect to the WhatsApp account used on your main smartphone:
Companion mode allows you to link this device to a WhatsApp account registered on your phone.
In the event that a second WhatsApp account is used on the secondary smartphone (perhaps connected to the reserve SIM that we use in case of need, or the work one), as soon as Companion Mode is activated, you will be automatically disconnected from this second WhatsApp account.
Switching to Companion mode will result in logging out of your current WhatsApp account. This operation will erase all locally saved WhatsApp data, including your messages and multimedia files. You can back up the data for your current account using Google Drive backup.
Two final notes:
- The second device can also be an Android tablet
- The novelty will also be implemented on iOS