WhatsApp to let users send messages without using their phones

Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp, is testing a new feature that will allow people to send messages without using their phone for the first time.

Presently, WhatsApp is linked to users’ phone; its personal computer and web application need the device to connect and receive messages.

The new feature, however, will let users send and receive messages even if your phone battery is dead. It said up to four other devices like PCs and tablets can be used together without needing to connect to the smartphone app.

“With this new capability, you can now use WhatsApp on your phone and up to four other non-phone devices simultaneously – even if your phone battery is dead,” the blog post by Facebook Engineers said.

At the start, the new feature will be rolled out as a beta test for a “small group of users”, and the team plans to increase performance and add features before allowing it for everyone.

It said end-to-end encryption, a key selling point for WhatsApp, will still work under this new system.

“Each companion device will connect to your WhatsApp independently while maintaining the same level of privacy and security through end-to-end encryption that people who use WhatsApp have come to expect,” it said.