"WhatsApp to let users message without their phones"

" \n WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will let people message without using their phone for the first time. \n \n\n \n At present, WhatsApp is linked to a user\u2019s phone. Its desktop and web apps need that device to be connected and receiving messages. \n \n\n \n But the new feature will let users send and receive messages \u201ceven if your phone battery is dead\u201d. \n \n\n \n Up to four other devices \u2013 like PCs and tablets \u2013 can be used together, WhatsApp said. \n \n\n \n To begin with, the new feature will be rolled out as a beta test for a \u201csmall group of users\u201d, and the team plans to improve performance and add features before enabling it for everyone. \n \n\n \n End-to-end encryption \u2013 a key selling point for WhatsApp \u2013 will still work under this new system, it said. \n \n\n \n Several other messaging apps already have such a feature, including rival encrypted app Signal, which requires a phone for sign-up, but not to exchange messages. \n \n\n \n But the feature has long been requested by WhatsApp users \u2013\u00a0of which there are a reported two billion. \n \n\n \n \u2018A rethink\u2019 \n \n\n \n In a blog post announcing the move,\u00a0Facebook engineers said the change needed a \u201crethink\u201d of WhatsApp\u2019s software design. \n \n\n \n That is because the current version \u201cuses a smartphone app as the primary device, making the phone the source of truth for all user data and the only device capable of end-to-end encrypting messages for another user [or] initiating calls\u201d, the company said. \n \n\n \n WhatsApp Web and other non-smartphone apps are essentially a \u201cmirror\u201d of what happens on the phone. \n \n\n \n But that system has significant drawbacks familiar to many regular users, as the web app is known to frequently disconnect. \n \n\n \n It also means that only one so-called \u201ccompanion app\u201d can be active at a time \u2013 so loading WhatsApp on another device will disconnect a WhatsApp web window. \n \n\n \n \u201cThe 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 synchronised and private,\u201d the company said. \n \n\n \n On a technical level, the solution was giving every device its own \u201cidentity key\u201d, and WhatsApp keeps a record of which keys belong to the same user account. That means it does not need to store messages on its own server, which could lead to privacy concerns. \n \n\n \n But Jake Moore, a security specialist at anti-virus-company Eset, said that no matter how robust the security is, having messages on more devices could still be a concern. \n \n\n \n \u201cThere will always be a malicious actor looking to create a workaround,\u201d he said. \n \n\n \n \u201cDomestic abusers and stalkers could now have the potential of using this new feature to their advantage, by creating additional endpoints in order to capture any synchronised private communications.\u201d \n \n\n \n He also said that social engineering is an \u201cever-increasing\u201d threat, and the responsibility lies with the user to keep an eye out for potential misuse. \n \n\n \n \u201cIt is therefore vital that people are aware of all the devices that are connected to their account,\u201d he warned. \n "

"WhatsApp to let users message without their phones"

Audit Service Refutes Claims of Apology Over GHS 138.91bn Public Debt OverstatementAMP

Attorney General Justifies Dropping Duffuor Case, Says Recovery of Misappropriated Funds Preferable to Risking Total Loss in CourtAMP

Black Queens duo Grace Asantewaa and Portia Boakye shine in CAF Tournament XIAMP