WhatsApp is finally getting the iOS update you've waited a year for

(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

published 27 January 2025

Quick Summary

WhatsApp is getting a feature many iPhone users have wanted for ages – the ability to run two accounts from inside the same app.

It's currently in its beta test form, but should be rolled out in the coming weeks.

WhatsApp gets so many updates it's hard to keep up sometimes, but despite a year of upgrades there's still a big feature that hasn't made it to iOS yet – support for multiple accounts.

Thankfully though, code in the latest beta version of the iOS app suggests that the chat service is set to deliver exactly that.

The feature is something that's been possible to do on dual-SIM and eSIM Android phones since 2023. And, according to the code watchers at WABetaInfo, the feature's inside the iOS app – although it's not quite ready for release, as yet.

What to expect from WhatsApp multiple account support on iPhone

As with other social apps, having multiple accounts makes it much easier to keep different bits of your life separate – so for example, you might use WhatsApp for work and for personal stuff, so having multi-account support would make it much easier to switch between the two.

It also means you don't need to run multiple apps, which is the current workaround.

Some WhatsApp users have the core app for their personal communications and WhatsApp Business for their business number. Multiple account support would enable you to keep all your communication history in one place, while still keeping notifications, chats and settings separate for each account.

The new feature will give you two options with the app. You'll be able to add another account from scratch with your iPhone as its primary device, or you can scan a QR code to link the app to an existing account as a companion. Of course, your accounts will need to have different phone numbers.

According to WABetaInfo the feature is still in development and visible in Testflight, Apple's testing platform for app developers. That means it's still a bit away from release, but it's encouraging that it's coming.

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Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).