WHATSAPP could be about to launch an in-demand feature at long last - the ability to use the same account from multiple phones and that's great news for those who use Android for work and iPhone for play.
Earlier this year WhatsApp introduced multi-device support for the leading chat app. However, to start with the feature wasn't exactly what users had been hoping for. That's because, at first, WhatsApp multi-device support was limited to WhatsApp Web, WhatsApp Desktop and Facebook's Portal smart display.

Multiple smartphones weren't supported with the original release, but it had been hoped this would be added later on. And now it looks like that time is almost here, with the WhatsApp sleuths at WABetaInfo unearthing a 'multi-device 2.0' update that will add the ability to use multiple smartphones.

This in-the-works patch would enable WhatsApp users to register a secondary smartphone to use alongside your main account.
For anyone who has an Android device for work and an iPhone for their personal texts, or vice versa, this will be a great addition as you'll be able to chat to friends on WhatsApp from both devices.

WABetaInfo said the feature is in development at the moment and could also encompass Apple iPad and Android tablets.

The proof of the feature that WABetaInfo discovered was a 'downloading recent messages' screen buried within the latest beta code.

This is the same type of loading screen that appears on WhatsApp Web if you join the multi-device beta programme - albeit this UI element is for mobile devices.

Which has led to speculation that multi-device support could be winging its way to smartphones in the future.

The WhatsApp news portal said: "When you open WhatsApp on the second mobile device after some time, WhatsApp will download all messages from the server and this does not require your main phone to be connected to the Internet.

Also Read: How to view a picture in WhatsApp without opening the chat

"When you link your second mobile device the first time, WhatsApp will sync the chat history: this process is obviously end-to-end encrypted.

"It’s not yet clear if WhatsApp will reserve this feature only for tablets (WhatsApp for iPad and Android tablets) or mobile phones are included, but there is no evidence that they will exclude mobile phones."

At the time of writing, a release date for the WhatsApp multi-device 2.0 update is unknown.

WhatsApp bans millions of Indian accounts

Facebook-owned WhatsApp said it banned 20.7 lakh accounts in India in the month of August in accordance with the new IT Rules 2021.

In its second monthly report for the 30-day period of August 1-August 31, under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, WhatsApp received 420 grievances from users in India received via e-mails and mails sent to the India Grievance Officer via post. The platform acted upon 41 of those grievances.

"This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action was taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp's own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform," said a WhatsApp spokesperson.

In the period from June 16-July 31, WhatsApp had banned 30.2 lakh accounts in India in compliance with the new IT rules.

In its first monthly grievance redressal report, WhatsApp had banned 20 lakh accounts in India that attempted to send harmful or unwanted messages at scale.

"Our top focus is preventing accounts from sending harmful or unwanted messages at scale. We maintain advanced capabilities to identify these accounts sending a high or abnormal rate of messages," the company had said.

"Majority of users who reach out to us are either aiming to have their account restored following an action to ban them or reaching out for product or account support," it added.–express.co.uk/odishatv.in