A new interview with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart has confirmed that WhatsApp is working on multi-device support as well as WhatsApp for iPad. The interview also confirmed other new features such as disappearing mode and view once, which are currently in testing and will be released to all users soon.
All these details are courtesy of WaBetaInfo’s interview with Zuckerberg and Cathcart. WaBetaInfo has been covering unreleased and beta WhatsApp features for a long time before they are officially announced, so this was a great opportunity for the website to connect with the top folks who make the decisions that dictate the feature set for the messaging app.
WhatsApp will support up to 4 devices when multi-device support is rolled out
The interview was originally scheduled with Will Cathcart via a WhatsApp conversation, but Mark Zuckerberg was surprisingly added mid-way during the conversation. Zuckerberg confirmed that some features such as “disappearing mode” for messages (allowing them to automatically delete after 7 days) and “view once” for photo and video messages are priority features and will be rolled out for private conversations soon. These features will be released to WhatsApp beta users first.
WaBetaInfo was also able to ask some burning questions that users have been asking for a while. The first one was for multi-device support, which is already supported by competing messaging apps like Telegram and iMessage. Zuckerberg confirmed that multi-device support will be rolled out soon as the company has solved major technical challenges to ensure that all messages and content stay in sync across devices even when one of them is offline. The syncing will still be end-to-end encrypted. The feature will be rolled out in two months to public beta testers.
Cathcart also confirmed that WhatsApp for iPad might happen after multi-device support is rolled out. Users will be able to connect up to 4 devices at a time with multi-device support. The company is also considering opening up its beta program to allow more iOS users to join, however, there was no definite timeframe shared for this bit.
Read more:
- WhatsApp working on a feature for migrating chat history to a different phone number
- WhatsApp is testing new ‘review’ feature for voice messages on iOS – Leaker
- WhatsApp is testing new ‘Sticker Suggestions” feature for iOS and Android
- WhatsApp is working on chat history transfer between iPhone and Android
- Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, talks about Apple and iMessage in new interview
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