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> I used to work at WhatsApp.. Do you know why there is a 4 device limit? I run into this limit quite a bit, because I have a lot more devices. And... Why i

> I used to work at WhatsApp.. Do you know why there is a 4 device limit? I run into this limit quite a bit, because I have a lot more devices. And... Why is there is WhatsApp for most commonly used devices, but iPads?

swiftcoder 2y ago
> Why is there is WhatsApp for most commonly used devices, but iPads? I was frustrated by this a while back, so I asked the PMs. Basically when investing engineering effort WhatsApp prioritises the overall number of users connected, and supporting iPads doesn't really move that metric, because (a) the vast majority of iPad owners also own a smartphone, and (b) iPads are pretty rare outside of wealthy western cities.
toast0 2y ago
I've been gone too long for accurate answers, but I can guess. For iPad, I think it's like the sibling notes; expected use is very low, so it didm't justify the engineering cost while I was there. But I see some signs it might happen eventually [1]; WhatsApp for Android Tablets wasn't a thing when I was there either, but it is now. For the four device limit, there's a few things going on IMHO. Synchronization is hard and the more devices are playing, the harder it is. Independent devices makes it easier in some ways because the user devices don't have to be online together to communicate (like when whatsapp web was essentially a remote control for your phone), but it does mean that all of your communications partner's devices have to work harder and the servers have to work harder, too. Four deviced covers your phone, a desktop at home and work, and a laptop; but really most of the users only have a phone. Allowing more devices makes it more likely that you'll lose track of one or not use it for long enough that it's lost sync, etc. WhatsApp has usually focused on product features that benefit the most users, and more than 4 devices isn't going to benefit many people, and 4 is plenty for internal use (phone, prod build, dev build, home computer). I'm sure they've got metrics of how many devices are used, and if there's a lot of 4 device users and enough requests, it's a #define somewhere. [1] https://www.macworld.com/article/668638/how-to-get-whatsapp-on-ipad.html https://www.macworld.com/article/668638/how-to-get-whatsapp-...

swiftcoder 2y ago

> Why is there is WhatsApp for most commonly used devices, but iPads? I was frustrated by this a while back, so I asked the PMs. Basically when investing engineering effort WhatsApp prioritises the overall number of users connected, and supporting iPads doesn't really move that metric, because (a) the vast majority of iPad owners also own a smartphone, and (b) iPads are pretty rare outside of wealthy western cities.

toast0 2y ago

I've been gone too long for accurate answers, but I can guess. For iPad, I think it's like the sibling notes; expected use is very low, so it didm't justify the engineering cost while I was there. But I see some signs it might happen eventually [1]; WhatsApp for Android Tablets wasn't a thing when I was there either, but it is now. For the four device limit, there's a few things going on IMHO. Synchronization is hard and the more devices are playing, the harder it is. Independent devices makes it easier in some ways because the user devices don't have to be online together to communicate (like when whatsapp web was essentially a remote control for your phone), but it does mean that all of your communications partner's devices have to work harder and the servers have to work harder, too. Four deviced covers your phone, a desktop at home and work, and a laptop; but really most of the users only have a phone. Allowing more devices makes it more likely that you'll lose track of one or not use it for long enough that it's lost sync, etc. WhatsApp has usually focused on product features that benefit the most users, and more than 4 devices isn't going to benefit many people, and 4 is plenty for internal use (phone, prod build, dev build, home computer). I'm sure they've got metrics of how many devices are used, and if there's a lot of 4 device users and enough requests, it's a #define somewhere. [1] https://www.macworld.com/article/668638/how-to-get-whatsapp-on-ipad.html https://www.macworld.com/article/668638/how-to-get-whatsapp-...