WhatsApp Will Soon Make It Easier to Add or Manage Contacts on Web and Other Linked Devices

WhatsApp
has
announced
that
it
will
soon
roll
out
a
big
change
that
will
make
managing
contacts
on
linked
devices
an
easier
process.
At
present,
users
need
to
save
a
contact
on
their
primary
device
for
it
to
show
up
on
WhatsApp
with
the
saved
name.
However,
this
is
now
expected
to
change
soon,
as
announced
by
WhatsApp.
Users
will
be
able
to
add
or
manage
contacts
on
WhatsApp
for
Web,

Windows
and
other
linked
devices.

In
a
blog

post,
WhatsApp
highlighted
that
the
only
way
to
add
contacts
was
by
saving
it
on
the
primary
device
or
by
scanning
a
QR
code.
With
its
upcoming
functionality,
users
will
be
able
to
do
the
same
from
any
device.
The
change
will
initially
be
introduced
on
WhatsApp
Web
and
Windows
and
eventually
on
other
linked
devices.

The
instant
messaging
platform
is
introducing
another
key
feature
—
the
ability
to
save
contacts
exclusively
on
WhatsApp.
This
feature
is
said
to
come
in
handy
when
separating
personal
and
professional
contacts
or
sharing
the
phone
with
others.
Users
will
be
presented
with
a
choice
of
whether
to
save
a
particular
contact
only
on
WhatsApp
or
sync
it
to
the
smartphone
as
well.

The
aforementioned
feature
uses
a
novel
encrypted
storage
system
called
Identity
Proof
Linked
Storage
(IPLS),
leveraging
key
transparency
and
WhatsApp’s
hardware
security
module
(HSM)
technologies. As
per
WhatsApp,
the
contact
information
is
stored
using
a
strong
encryption
key
generated
on
the
client’s
device.
It
is
retrieved
only
when
the
client
authenticates
the
primary
device
identity.
Contacts
saved
on
WhatsApp
will
be
restored
in
case
the
user
ever
loses
their
phone
or
changes
devices.
Additionally,
they
can
also
create
or
customise
contact
lists
if
they
have
separate
personal
and
work
WhatsApp
accounts
on
the
same
device.

Courtesy
of
these
features,
WhatsApp
says
it
is
heading
in
the
direction
where
it
might
eventually
let
users
manage
and
save
contacts
by
usernames.
The
company
claims
this
will
bolster
privacy
by
negating
the
need
of
sharing
phone
numbers
to
have
conversations
on
WhatsApp.