WhatsApp is bringing an oft-requested feature in a new beta: Multi-device support.

While WhatsApp has supported desktop and web-based communication for some time, these methods require a person’s phone to be active and powered on in order to send and receive messages. WhatsApp is now adding the ability to have multiple devices in use…even when a person’s phone is not connected.

This change involves changing the entire process by which a person’s account is confirmed and messages are encrypted/decrypted.

The current WhatsApp experience for companion devices on web, macOS, Windows, and Portal uses a smartphone app as the primary device, making the phone the source of truth for all user data and the only device capable of encrypting or decrypting messages, initiating calls, etc. Companion devices maintain a persistent secure connection with the phone and simply mirror its contents on their own UI.

The new version removes the phone as the primary component.

The new WhatsApp multi-device architecture removes these hurdles, no longer requiring a smartphone to be the source of truth while still keeping user data seamlessly and securely synchronized and private.