Today, WhatsApp announced a significant overhaul to the way it manages contacts. Until now, WhatsApp contacts are the contacts of the phone it is installed on. This can be a problem for those who lose their phone and don’t have a backup of their contacts, for example. It can also be a headache for those who share a phone, as well as those who manage multiple accounts with separate contacts on a single device.
Fortunately, WhatsApp has a solution: a built-in contact manager. This will allow you to save contacts in the app and so you won’t lose them if you change phones.
The first step in implementing this new feature is being able to save contacts on WhatsApp Web and Windows. WhatsApp owner Meta says you’ll eventually be able to save contacts on other linked devices.
The contacts you save in WhatsApp use a new privacy-preserving storage technology called Identity Proof Linked Storage (IPLS), which Meta says keeps names and numbers encrypted and only allows You access it.
The new Contacts feature will, at some point in the future, be followed by a username system which will allow you to use the application without linking your account to your phone number.