WhatsApp multi-device beta allows four devices at once even without a phone
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Until now, using WhatsApp web on your desktop or any other device has required having a phone that's powered on and connected, but a new beta test is trying out support for multiple devices without needing a phone in the mix. In a June interview, WhatsApp head Will Cathcart and his boss, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, commented on the technical challenge of maintaining end-to-end encryption. With a blog post today, Cathcart explains more about what has been done behind the scenes to maintain security.
Image: Facebook WhatsApp's message architecture.As the image comparing the legacy and new systems (above) tries to explain, previously, a user's phone managed the key determining their identity and ability to...