Currently, a WhatsApp account can only be used on one smartphone at a time. But that could change very soon, as testers of the current beta found out.

From time to time, the metagroup, which also owns WhatsApp in addition to Facebook and Instagram, adds new features to its chat app. Now it seems to be that time again, because an innovation has appeared in the current test version that did not exist before.

Accordingly, WhatsApp developers are currently working on a way that one WhatsApp account can be actively used on two smartphones. Until now, this is not possible: a WhatsApp account can only be linked to one device and used for chatting.

Link by scanning a QR code

Ingenious testers discovered the new feature in the latest beta version of the app. Because a corresponding menu item appears there in the software’s source code, but is not yet built into the application and is available as a controllable menu item in the frontend.

Apparently, linking the account on a second smartphone works the same way as it does on desktop versions of WhatsApp. Here, users need to open the app on their main device and then scan a QR code on the screen of the new device. The account is then simply linked to the new device.

WhatsApp was only in beta in mid-April Added new options for self status.. Now you can set who can see your own status. Until now this could only be hidden for all or no contacts, now it can be disabled for individual contacts as well. Beta users can find the feature in WhatsApp settings under the “Account” > “Privacy” menu item.

There is no exact release date yet for the new dual account usage feature. However, since the option is already included in the beta version, it should be released relatively soon.