You Will Finally Be Able to Easily Manage Contacts in WhatsApp

You will finally be able to manage your contacts in WhatsApp easily! WhatsApp is set to greatly improve its contact management with new features, allowing you to handle contacts from any device and store them directly within the app.

Until now, WhatsApp only saved contact information through your smartphone's internal address book. This was the sole method for the app to store, manage, and sync contacts—a system that quickly becomes problematic if you lose your phone without a backup. Thankfully, Meta has announced in a blog post the upcoming release of an independent contact manager for WhatsApp, separate from your smartphone's address book, and accessible across all devices connected to your account. Finally!

WhatsApp: A Contact Manager Worthy of the Name

Several new features have been announced.

• First, the way contacts are added will change. Until now, contacts could only be added from your smartphone, either by entering a phone number or by scanning a QR code. Soon, you'll be able to add contacts directly from your computer via WhatsApp Web, Windows, and other devices connected to the app.
• Additionally, you'll be able to save new contacts solely in WhatsApp, rather than in your phone's native address book. Meta notes that this feature is "ideal when sharing a phone or managing multiple WhatsApp accounts, allowing users to separate personal and professional contacts."
• All contacts saved in the app will be synced with your backup, making them restorable on any device connected to your account.
• Finally, Meta will introduce the option to manage and save contacts by username rather than just by phone number. This adds an extra layer of privacy, as you'll no longer need to share your phone number to message someone.

To enable these new features, WhatsApp is employing a new encrypted storage system called Identity Proof Link Storage (IPLS). When saving a contact, the system generates a unique key on your device. When a contact is retrieved, the client authenticates its identity. The app also partners with Cloudflare for additional security, ensuring that any cryptographic updates to the user directory are securely signed. This is intended to guarantee that no one can alter your contacts stored within WhatsApp. No specific release date has been provided, so we'll need to wait a bit longer to enjoy these features.