WhatsApp Testing New Contact Sync Feature for Linked Devices: Report

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new privacy feature for Android users, aimed at enhancing the management of synced contacts. According to a recent update shared by a feature tracking site, this upcoming feature could provide additional functionality to WhatsApp’s multi-account system, which allows users to operate two accounts on a single device without relying on parallel apps. The feature is designed to give users greater control over how their address book contacts are synced across devices, building on the platform’s recent beta updates, including a shortcut for marking all chats as ‘read’ at once.

Managing WhatsApp Contact Sync

As per the information from WABetaInfo, the contact sync management feature is expected to allow users to control the synchronization of their address book when using WhatsApp across different devices. This feature was identified in the WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.24.18.14. Once rolled out, users will reportedly have the option to select specific contacts to sync for different accounts on their phone.

The new interface for this feature, as shown in a screenshot shared by the feature tracker, includes the message, “Keep your contacts separate for each account.” Besides managing contact syncing, this feature is also expected to enable users to control WhatsApp contacts from linked devices.

While WABetaInfo notes that this shortcut is still under development and hasn’t been made available to beta testers through the Google Play Beta program, it may be introduced in a future WhatsApp for Android update. However, it is important to remember that not all features under development make it to the final public version of the app.

New Chat Management Tools in Development

In addition to contact sync management, WhatsApp for Android is reportedly testing another feature aimed at improving chat management. Once available, this feature will allow users to clear their unread message count by marking all incoming messages as ‘read’ via a new option in the overflow menu located at the top-right corner of the screen.

It is also rumored that WhatsApp is working on a similar ‘mark read’ feature for the iOS version of the app, as the messaging platform typically aims to maintain feature parity between its iOS and Android applications.