WhatsApp just announced a slew of updates for iPhone users, playing catch-up with some of the features that have existed on Android for years. With this update, iPhone users can expect multiple accounts, easy cross-platform transfers, an option to only clear the media from chats, and, of course, a couple of Meta AI features to round things off. According to WhatsApp, the update is rolling out now and will be available to everyone soon—though as it’s a slow rollout, it might take time before it’s live on your iPhone.
iPhone users can finally have two WhatsApp accounts at once
The biggest update here is the addition of multi-account support, something that WhatsApp has been testing on iPhone since last January, and a feature that has been live on Android since 2023. Now, just like Android, you can use two WhatsApp accounts on your iPhone: perhaps one for work, and one for personal use. But because this is WhatsApp, the second account will need a separate phone number (that’s when eSIM is going to be helpful). Once they are set up, you will get notifications and messages from both accounts, and you can switch between the active account from the Profile menu in the tab bar.
iPhone to Android chat transfer gets easier
WhatsApp just made transferring your chats between two phones much easier. It all happens over wifi now (previously you needed to connect using a USB-C cable). On your iPhone, go to Settings > Chats > Transfer chat history > Transfer to Android to get started. Make sure that your iPhone is unlocked, and when prompted, scan a QR code, and connect to a stable wifi network.
Free up space without deleting complete chats
Usually, it’s the photos and videos that take up the most space on WhatsApp. The app has a dedicated storage management tool that will delete images and videos in bulk, but now, WhatsApp is bringing it directly into your conversations. Following the update, you’ll find a Manage Storage option in every thread. You can select all the media to delete with a tap, while keeping all your text messages, links, and documents safe.
What do you think so far?
WhatsApp has new sticker suggestions
WhatsApp wants you to switch from regular emojis to its animated stickers. When you type commonly used emojis (say, the heart emoji), it will suggest stickers instead (a pulsating, red heart). You can tap on a sticker to swap out the emoji.
WhatsApp has new AI features for you to ignore
It wouldn’t be a Meta update without the addition of new Meta AI features. WhatsApp is updating its Writing Help feature, which it introduced last year. Writing Help takes your message and suggests a couple of revised versions to replace it with, each in different tones, and all processed locally using WhatsApp’s Private Processing feature. Now, WhatsApp can directly draft a reply to a message based on the conversation. This too happens locally, and the chat remains private. Lastly, you can now use Meta AI to touch up photos before sending them off in WhatsApp. You can remove distracting objects, change the background, or apply a different style to the photo.
