WhatsApp is making a massive change to the way it saves your contacts

WhatsApp typically relies connected the smartphone reside book it runs connected to clasp and negociate contacts. But that tin beryllium a problem for users who suffer their instrumentality and neglect to backmost up their phone’s contacts, group who stock phones, aliases those who negociate aggregate accounts pinch abstracted contacts connected 1 device.

To start, you’ll beryllium capable to prevention contacts connected WhatsApp Web and Windows and Meta says that you’ll “eventually” beryllium capable to do truthful connected different linked devices. Contacts saved successful WhatsApp usage a caller “privacy-preserving” retention exertion called Identity Proof Linked Storage (IPLS) that Meta explains keeps names and numbers encrypted and tin only beryllium accessed by the user.

In an email to The Verge, property typical for WhatsApp Jessica Maskell wrote that the caller contacts characteristic will beryllium followed by a caller username strategy wherever telephone numbers won’t beryllium required. Other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps for illustration Signal person besides added a telephone number-free option for utilizing the app.