WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.18.14: what's new?

WhatsApp is rolling out a new update through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the version up to 2.24.18.14.
What's new in this update? WhatsApp is working on a privacy feature to manage contact syncing, and it will be available in a future update!

In the article about the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.18.21 update, we announced that WhatsApp was widely rolling out a feature to allow users to use more than one account. This feature marks a significant shift in the way users can manage their WhatsApp accounts, as it allows them to add an additional account directly within the app's settings without the need to rely on parallel or cloned apps. It appears that WhatsApp now intends to introduce new improvements to better manage contacts across multiple device, with the aim to improve both privacy and convenience. Thanks to the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.18.14 update, which is available on the Google Play Store, we discovered that WhatsApp is working on a privacy feature to manage contact syncing!

As you can see from the attached screenshot, WhatsApp is exploring a new section that will allow users to manage the synchronization of their address book, scheduled for release in a future update. With this upcoming feature, users will be able to control how contacts are synced for each account independently. For example, users can choose to disable contact syncing for their second account if they prefer to keep it separate from their primary one. This is particularly useful for those who want to maintain distinct contact lists across different accounts, such as keeping work and personal contacts separate.

It is worth noting that, even if users decide to disable contact syncing for their account, WhatsApp will provide a manual sync option for each contact in the future. This means that users will still be able to choose to sync specific contacts from their accounts as needed, without syncing the entire address book. Manually syncing a contact will also ensure that it becomes available across all linked devices, allowing users to permanently access these contacts. In addition, users will be able to unsync contacts that were previously synced if they no longer want them available across their linked devices. It is also important to mention that contacts that users sync to their accounts will be securely backed up if they choose to enable a new contact backup option from their privacy settings. This ensures that these specific contacts are preserved and can be easily restored if the user links their account to a new device or reinstalls the app.

A privacy feature to manage contact syncing is under development and it will be available in a future update. We will keep you updated with an additional article as soon as we have more details to share about this feature.

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