Meta recently announced it is rolling out a new update that allows users to run two different WhatsApp accounts on a single phone. This feature has actually been in the works for quite some time and was already being tested by WhatsApp beta users.
Before you can use the feature, there are two main requirements that you need to fulfil though. For one, this multi-account feature is only available for Android devices for the time being.
It is unclear for now if or when the new feature will come to other devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Windows PC. This is because the official announcement on the WhatsApp Blog did not mention any other platforms aside from Android.
The other requirement that you need to meet before you can utilise the new multi-account feature on WhatsApp is to have a second phone number. This is because the second WhatsApp account still needs to be tied to a phone number which is one of the service’s long-standing policies.
Since WhatsApp will send a one-time passcode to the second phone number during the initial verification process, you generally need a second phone to get this done. Alternatively, you can also use a phone that supports multi-SIM or eSIM if you don’t want to live with an additional phone.
Once the verification process is done, you will no longer need the second phone or even the SIM card that belonged to the second phone number. Meanwhile, don’t worry if this feature has yet to appear on your device as it is common for a newly available WhatsApp feature to take several days or weeks to make its way to your device.
Prior to this, WhatsApp had rolled out the ability to access your account on multiple phones through a feature called “Linked Devices”. We have come out with a little guide on how to activate and use the new feature, so make sure you check it out if the feature suits your needs.
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