5 ms·

WhatsApp adds option to use the same account on multiple phones

33 points by memalign 3y ago

justsomehnguy 3y ago
It's always amusing how American companies see only one way to do things. Shared mailboxes (not mail addresses, but mailboxes) were a common and useful thing which couldn't be done properly in Exchange up to ~2016 and there are still some quirks. Telegram does have a 1st class desktop client and allows using a single account on multiple phones. It just works and don't use the phone as a gateway. Also it makes me wonder if this feature could be used to migrate between iOS/Android without losing history. I don't need it, but other people - do.
- ksec 3y ago
  I think iOS / Android Account migration has been working for sometime, but are limited to specific models due to certain issues. WhatsApp is the biggest hurdle to switching smartphone ecosystem.
- tinus_hn 3y ago
  Telegram is holding all of your messages forever, encrypted with a key they have. WhatsApp doesn’t keep your messages and while they are on their servers, they are encrypted with a key only you have. Security vs. Convenience
  - justsomehnguy 3y ago
    > WhatsApp doesn’t keep your messages and while they are on their servers, they are encrypted with a key only you have Yes, when I share one account with 3 other people I surely worry about encryption. But anyway, existence of this new (for WA) option confirms what there is a way to solve that problem.
    - tinus_hn 3y ago
      Of course, you can just have a way to transfer the code to other phones from the phone that has it. Using QR codes or something, shouldn’t be too hard. But with Telegram, if you prove to the servers satisfaction that you control the associated phone number, the server will give you the key and all the old messages. So clearly the server has the key and the messages, and also Telegram documents that it works like this.
  - culopatin 3y ago
    How do we know this? Both companies are just as untrustworthy.
    - tinus_hn 3y ago
      WhatsApp is a closed source app talking to a closed source server. Telegram is an open source app compiled by someone else, talking to their closed source server. There is no way to know anything.
ksec 3y ago
I wonder if I could have multiple WhatsApp on one iPhone then? Or more than 2. Currently it is WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp only.

33 points by memalign 3y ago

It's always amusing how American companies see only one way to do things. Shared mailboxes (not mail addresses, but mailboxes) were a common and useful thing which couldn't be done properly in Exchange up to ~2016 and there are still some quirks. Telegram does have a 1st class desktop client and allows using a single account on multiple phones. It just works and don't use the phone as a gateway. Also it makes me wonder if this feature could be used to migrate between iOS/Android without losing history. I don't need it, but other people - do.

ksec 3y ago
I think iOS / Android Account migration has been working for sometime, but are limited to specific models due to certain issues. WhatsApp is the biggest hurdle to switching smartphone ecosystem.
tinus_hn 3y ago
Telegram is holding all of your messages forever, encrypted with a key they have. WhatsApp doesn’t keep your messages and while they are on their servers, they are encrypted with a key only you have. Security vs. Convenience
- justsomehnguy 3y ago
  > WhatsApp doesn’t keep your messages and while they are on their servers, they are encrypted with a key only you have Yes, when I share one account with 3 other people I surely worry about encryption. But anyway, existence of this new (for WA) option confirms what there is a way to solve that problem.
  - tinus_hn 3y ago
    Of course, you can just have a way to transfer the code to other phones from the phone that has it. Using QR codes or something, shouldn’t be too hard. But with Telegram, if you prove to the servers satisfaction that you control the associated phone number, the server will give you the key and all the old messages. So clearly the server has the key and the messages, and also Telegram documents that it works like this.
- culopatin 3y ago
  How do we know this? Both companies are just as untrustworthy.
  - tinus_hn 3y ago
    WhatsApp is a closed source app talking to a closed source server. Telegram is an open source app compiled by someone else, talking to their closed source server. There is no way to know anything.

ksec 3y ago

I wonder if I could have multiple WhatsApp on one iPhone then? Or more than 2. Currently it is WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp only.