SAN FRANCISCO: Until now, if you added your WhatsApp account on a new phone, like a work phone or a backup device, your account would promptly be removed from your other phone.

But the Facebook and Instagram sister company is now putting an end to its infamous one-phone-at-a-time policy and falling in line with rival messaging apps like Signal and Telegram.

“A feature highly requested by users, now you can link your phone as one of up to four additional devices, the same as when you link with WhatsApp on web browsers, tablets and desktops,” the company in late April.

While most people will just be adding WhatsApp on a private and work phone, in theory you can now have your WhatsApp account active on five different phones at the same time. You can also continue to access your account from a web browser on any computer.

Above all, the feature is likely to benefit small businesses, where multiple employees will now be able to use different phones to respond to customers from the same number.

Previously, switching between phone accounts was a minor headache that involved logging out of one device and back into another, with the risk of losing chat history and shared photos in the process.

WhatsApp says the feature is rolling out globally in the coming weeks.

 - dpa