WhatsApp just announced that it will soon allow users to add contacts from any device, and not just a primary phone, solving one of life's little annoyances. An upcoming update will allow people to add and manage contacts through the web client, on a Windows PC and “eventually on other linked devices.”
Users will also be able to save a contact exclusively to WhatsApp without syncing it to a phone, which is useful when sharing a phone with others or for those managing personal and work WhatsApp accounts on the same device. Meta says this will also solve the problem of people losing all their contacts when they misplace a phone, as the contacts will be fully restorable.
Even better? The company says this is the first step toward what many consider the “holy grail” of possible improvements. WhatsApp gets usernames, so you won't have to save someone's information via a phone number. Meta says this will “add an extra degree of privacy” as you can share a username without sharing a phone number.
The multi-device contacts tool will be rolled out gradually “over the coming weeks and months.” There is no ETA for dedicated usernames. WhatsApp has been busy lately, in light of . The app was recently introduced and.
