Meta creates the best messaging apps the world has ever seen; I said it there. Social media surveillance and attention-ruining algorithms aside, the company formerly known as Facebook simply doesn't fail when it comes to communicating with others.
The company's portfolio includes the ever-reliable Facebook Messenger, the world-class DM system built into Instagram, and the world's most popular messaging service, WhatsApp.
However, WhatsApp's popularity doesn't mean it's the most advanced chat app Meta offers, and in one crucial sense, it's far behind its platform-dependent cousins.
Two billion people use WhatsApp: presumably some of us own more than one phone, and even then, almost all of us will upgrade to a new phone at some point in our lives and have to move from one to another.
Despite this, WhatsApp remains one of the most stubborn and annoying apps to migrate between devices, and it's even worse when I try to use it on two phones at once.
I recently started reviewing an interesting phone, one that made such a good first impression that I decided to adopt it as my new daily driver: the OnePlus Open. Logging into WhatsApp was quite simple and required an SMS or phone call to provide a login code. But transferring all my messages was another story.
WhatsApp has a wireless transfer feature. You have to open a menu, keep the app open on the old phone, log in on the new one, scan a QR code, and wait while your text and multimedia messages slowly cross each other.
There is also the option to back up your messages to Google Drive or iCloud, but this requires you to use some of your own data and storage space. As long as you don't have too much media to back it up, it won't take up too much space, but it's something you don't have to worry about with other messaging services.
The problem of the two phones with WhatsApp
There must be an easier way to log in to WhatsApp
Additionally, WhatsApp flatly refuses to work on two phones at the same time. Their account system links users to their phone number, so it views two phones as two different accounts. I don't see why it has to be like that.
I use the WhatsApp app on my MacBook and my phone at the same time without any problems. Why can't the same thing happen with two phones? This makes me turn to the WhatsApp website to check my messages on a second phone, which is unnecessarily inconvenient.
Part of WhatsApp's inflexibility could be due to its focus on security: it has long been marketed as a secure option for communication, since messages are end-to-end encrypted. Making it difficult to access an account is not always a bad thing.
That said, mobile security is the most advanced it's ever been: we have Face ID, fingerprint scanners, passcodes, and encryption. There must be an easier way to log in to WhatsApp that still respects its long legacy of security and privacy.
There is no way I will stop using WhatsApp: it is a globally essential tool for both my social and work life. Updates are constantly rolling out, but it seems that Meta hasn't improved WhatsApp for the average user. I hope a better account system becomes a priority soon.
