WhatsApp Beta-Testing Multi-Device Mode for Tablets

Being the most popular messaging app in the world, WhatsApp has been lacking one ability the rivals have: full multidevice support. It took WhatsApp more than a decade to start slowly implementing it, and now it’s testing the ability to use an Android tablet as a secondary device. The Companion mode will enable WhatsApp users to communicate from their tablets as well.

It’s understood why WhatsApp resisted the multidevice support all these years. This refusal is about security: when you use the messenger on just one device, there is little to no chance someone will enter your account from another. But times change, and many users have more than one device; plus, given how strong ecommerce is on WhatsApp, sometimes an account has to be shared with other users. In response to these challenges, WhatsApp launches the Companion mode for Android tablets.

In Companion mode, a WhatsApp user can install the app on an Android tablet and share the account from an Android phone or an iPhone to it. In the process of sharing, a QR code is used in the “Linked Devices” section of your WhatsApp instance on the smartphone. You need to point the camera at the QR code displayed by your WhatsApp app on the tablet to connect the apps.

After the devices are linked, the chats are synced from that moment on. So you should only use this mode if you use both devices yourself, or it’s a business account that’s intended to be used by more than one person. The connection doesn’t always work smoothly, but that’s what beta versions are for. It’s not granted, in addition, that it will work for you even if you install WhatsApp Beta 2.22.21.6 correctly.

Is multidevice mode what you’ve been expecting from WhatsApp? If you plan to use it, will you use both devices yourself or let someone else use your account, say, for business? Tell us what you think about this new feature in the comments!