WhatsApp currently obtains the telephone numbers and contact details from the smartphone address book. If you have only saved your contacts locally on your cell phone and it is lost, the contact details will also be gone. There will be a solution to this problem directly in WhatsApp in the future. And: You will soon no longer have to share your phone number to chat.
WhatsApp gets one integrated contact managerwhich allows you to save contacts directly in the messenger app. Whatsapp then synchronizes the data via the cloudso that they too If you lose your smartphone, have it restored. The data is also available on other devices on which you have added the WhatsApp account, as well as on linked smartphones or laptops.
Separate private and professional contacts
According to WhatsApp or Meta, the feature is also an advantage Separate personal and private contacts on smartphones. This is apparently possible via two separate WhatsApp accounts, each with their own saved contact details (use of two accounts is currently only possible on Android phones). Initially you will be able to save contacts via WhatsApp Web and on Windows. Later this will also be possible via other linked devices.
The storage is done using a technology that Identity Proof Link Storage (IPLS) calls. According to Meta, this ensures encryption of names and numbers. Only users have access to it, it is said.
WhatsApp without phone number display
As part of the new contacts management, WhatsApp will also introduce user names at a slightly later date. This is intended to make chatting safer. Because through innovation you become You no longer have to give out your phone numberif you want to send someone a message. Instead, your conversation partner obviously sees just your username. Some other messaging apps already enable chats without sharing your phone number. An example of this is Signal.