You will soon be able to store your contacts on WhatsApp
It promises greater flexibility, improved security, and more privacy for both personal and business users.
WhatsApp has been making a series of updates designed to improve user experience. From adding memory features to its AI chatbot (Meta AI) that will enable it to act like a personal assistant, to the anticipated call links for joining calls easily, the platform continues to evolve.
Now, the app is planning to introduce a new feature that could allow its 2 billion users to store contacts directly within WhatsApp.
Louis Eriakha
Until now, users could only add contacts from their mobile devices, either by typing in a phone number or scanning a QR code. With this update, users will soon be able to add and manage contacts using their keyboard on WhatsApp Web and Windows, offering a more flexible way to interact with contacts from any device. Eventually, this feature will roll out to additional linked devices as well.
The new feature will also give users the choice to exclusively save contacts to WhatsApp. This is particularly useful for those managing more than one WhatsApp account or sharing a phone with others, allowing them to separate personal and business contacts. Contacts saved within WhatsApp will be securely stored in the app’s cloud infrastructure, meaning they will be restored if a user ever loses their phone or changes devices.
Security remains a priority for WhatsApp with this update. WhatsApp has developed Identity Proof Linked Storage (IPLS), which encrypts contacts and ensures that only the user can access the information. In partnership with Cloudflare, WhatsApp is also monitoring any cryptographic changes to saved contacts, ensuring that the data remains secure and unaltered.
Looking ahead, WhatsApp has also hinted at introducing usernames, allowing users to communicate without sharing phone numbers. This change is expected to add an extra degree of privacy, similar to the username-based systems used by Signal and Telegram. Although usernames are not yet available, the new contact storage system lays the groundwork for this future update.
In my view, this is a really useful feature, even though it's arriving a bit later than expected. It feels like something that should have been available sooner, especially given how much people rely on WhatsApp for both personal and business communications. That said, it’s definitely a welcome addition, offering the kind of flexibility and security that many users have likely been waiting for.
Kelechi Edeh
