WhatsApp multi-device support will roll out to all in mandatory update

After years of users requesting the ability to use WhatsApp on more devices than just their phone, WhatsApp has finally added multi-device support to the calling and messaging platform. Technically, "multi-device support" only means you can use the same account on additional PC's or non-Apple tablets—you still can't download WhatsApp on a secondary phone or iPad, unfortunately.

The multi-device support ability was introduced this summer in a beta version to select users, and much more recently, became available for testing on a stable version of WhatsApp. Thousands of users took advantage of this and joined the multi-device beta program to be able to use WhatsApp from their laptops or tablets.

It was a feature you could opt into at your discretion through the phone app itself. If you wanted to be able to log in through a different device, you'd have to specifically enable the feature on your phone, as it's still technically in beta—that is, until now.

A report by WaBetaInfo reveals that multi-device support will very soon be more or less forced upon users in an upcoming WhatsApp update. The team at WaBetaInfo discovered that the option to opt out of the multi-device support program has been removed for users, meaning it is now a permanent feature of their account. 

They can now no longer leave the program, which is certain proof that multi-support is soon to be rolled out to everyone on the platform. And, as it turns out, it will be mandatory rather than optional after the upcoming WhatsApp beta version 2.21.23.10 goes live.

How will this affect users, you may ask? Well, if you are already using the multi-device support feature, as soon as the update arrives to bring it to everyone, you will be logged out of all your additional devices, and you will have to re-link them to your account if you want to use your WhatsApp on more than just your phone.

For the record, WhatsApp just recently removed the requirement for users' phones to be online if they want to use WhatsApp from a secondary device. And for what it's worth, we know that WhatsApp is already working on bringing the ability to link WhatsApp to more than one phone (and iPads, for that matter). When that update is coming, however, is still far too early to say.