Following the rollout of multi-account support on a single device, Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly developing new features for managing contacts across accounts. According to a report by WABetaInfo, the latest beta version for Android devices has introduced enhanced privacy features for managing contact syncing across accounts and linked devices.
New contact management features
The update includes a new section allowing users to manage contact syncing for each added account. Users can now disable contact syncing entirely for a secondary WhatsApp account while maintaining syncing for their primary account on the same device. Additionally, a manual sync option will enable users to sync only selected contacts to a specific account. This chosen sync setting will also be reflected on all devices linked to that WhatsApp account.
Furthermore, WhatsApp will introduce a contact backup option within privacy settings. When enabled, this feature will back up only those contacts that the user has synced to their account.
These new contact management features are expected to be available on WhatsApp for Android in a future update. There is currently no information on when these features will be available for the iOS app.
Upcoming privacy feature
Earlier reports indicated that WhatsApp is working on a new privacy feature named “Username and PIN.” This feature will offer new privacy settings options, including “Username” and “Username with PIN.” Selecting the “Username” option will hide the user’s phone number and display only the username to new contacts. The “Username with PIN” option will require a four-digit PIN for users to contact the individual.
First Published: Aug 30 2024 | 2:55 PM IST
