{"id":299590,"date":"2021-07-15T11:20:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T08:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/a-peek-into-the-tech-behind-whatsapps-new-multi-device-feature\/"},"modified":"2021-07-15T11:20:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T08:20:57","slug":"a-peek-into-the-tech-behind-whatsapps-new-multi-device-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-peek-into-the-tech-behind-whatsapps-new-multi-device-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"#A peek into the tech behind WhatsApp\u2019s new multi-device feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a307fd593022\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a307fd593022\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-peek-into-the-tech-behind-whatsapps-new-multi-device-feature\/#Whats_the_challenge_for_secure_multi-device_communication\" >What\u2019s the challenge for secure multi-device communication?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-peek-into-the-tech-behind-whatsapps-new-multi-device-feature\/#How_WhatsApp_plans_to_facilitate_secure_communication_with_the_multi-device_features\" >How WhatsApp plans to facilitate secure communication with the multi-device features?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#A peek into the tech behind <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WhatsApp<\/a>\u2019s new multi-device feature<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>WhatsApp \u2014 one of the most used chat apps across the world \u2014 is now testing the most sought-out feature on its app: multi-device support.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, you can use the app on only one device, and that\u2019s mostly your phone. You can use the web clientor the desktop app to chat with your friends and family, but your phone has to be connected to the internet.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the company confirmed that it\u2019s working on a feature that will let you link four devices to one account. Meaning, you can use each device independently, as long as you\u2019re connected to the internet.<\/p>\n<p>Last night, WhatsApp said that it\u2019s rolling out this feature to a limited number of users. Plus, it detailed how it plans to implement this feature while preserving your privacy.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_the_challenge_for_secure_multi-device_communication\"><\/span>What\u2019s the challenge for secure multi-device communication?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Having multiple devices connected to an account for a chat app is not new. Telegram, for instance, uses its cloud to let you use the app on multiple devices independently. However, these messages are not protected by end-to-end encryption \u2014 a marquee feature for WhatsApp.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, WhatsApp uses your phone to generate keys for end-to-end encryption. Your desktop clients are just mirrors for that. For multi-device communication, that method is not effective. So WhatsApp needs to store secure combinations of identities of all your linked devices.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, the company says it has developed a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> called\u00a0<span>Automatic Device Verification to verify your linked devices automatically when sending messages. Till now, if you had to link a device \u2014 mostly your desktop client \u2014 to your phone\u2019s WhatsApp account, you had to scan a QR code. But for the multi-device function, you\u2019ll also need to provide biometric authentication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_WhatsApp_plans_to_facilitate_secure_communication_with_the_multi-device_features\"><\/span>How WhatsApp plans to facilitate secure communication with the multi-device features?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When there is only one source device, it\u2019s easy to generate an encryption channel, and have the desktop client rely on the source\u2019s channel. However, when you have multiple devices linked to an account,\u00a0this architecture needs to change. When this feature rolls out, WhatsApp will establish multiple secure channels of two types: from your source to other devices and from your source to the sender\u2019s device.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019ll send a message to a friend, WhatsApp will first send it to a server. That server will send the message to all your devices for syncing, and to your friend through multiple end-to-end encrypted secure channels. The company says that the server doesn\u2019t store any of your messages.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-featured_img wp-image-1360633 js-lazy\" alt=\"WhatsApp\u2019s legacy architecture used a smartphone as the source of truth. But with the new multi-device capability, up to four other nonphone companion devices can connect to WhatsApp independently while still maintaining the same level of privacy and security.\" width=\"796\" height=\"448\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-796x448.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-796x448.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-280x158.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-240x135.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-1592x896.png 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-1200x675.png 1200w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fplugged%2F2021%2F07%2F15%2Fwhatsapp-multi-device-feature-detailed-privacy-analysis%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: WhatsApp will use an intermediary server to send your message to the linked devices and to your friend\" data-title=\"Share WhatsApp will use an intermediary server to send your message to the linked devices and to your friend on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share WhatsApp will use an intermediary server to send your message to the linked devices and to your friend on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>WhatsApp will use an intermediary server to send your message to the linked devices and to your friend<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-featured_img wp-image-1360633\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-796x448.png\" alt=\"WhatsApp\u2019s legacy architecture used a smartphone as the source of truth. But with the new multi-device capability, up to four other nonphone companion devices can connect to WhatsApp independently while still maintaining the same level of privacy and security.\" width=\"796\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-796x448.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-280x158.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-240x135.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-1592x896.png 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/WhatsApp-Multi-Device_Multi-Device_FINAL-1200x675.png 1200w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>For securing calls, the app plans to use a protocol called\u00a0Secure Real-time Transport Protocol\u00a0(SRTP). Through this, when you initiate a call, all of your friend\u2019s linked devices receive 32-bit SRTP master secret keys. When your friend receives a call from one of these devices, a secure connection is established through the SRTP master key generated for that device.<\/p>\n<p>The company said that the new technology also helps you maintain message history across devices that are protected by end-to-end encryption. It hasn\u2019t provided any timeline as to when it plans to roll this feature out to the masses, but we\u2019ll keep an eye on it.<\/p>\n<p>You can read more about how WhatsApp plans to use encryption across devices in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/scontent.whatsapp.net\/v\/t39.8562-34\/217392192_617386875906350_2307693746154839727_n.pdf\/WhatsApp_Security_Whitepaper_V4_Preview.pdf?ccb=1-3&amp;_nc_sid=2fbf2a&amp;_nc_ohc=1BmFDuUyXCwAX-DY-2n&amp;_nc_oc=AQkhD2x7-B33u8X3QCSaFdXxQdVoqpLGH3YnZQS4ep7bCFAftMMJXcLIeHwYo_sVtns&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.whatsapp.net&amp;oh=2d044959474704a25091fd69b28ec6a0&amp;oe=60F4C687\">this whitepaper<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><i>Did you know we have a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>letter all about consumer tech? It\u2019s called Plugged In \u2013<br \/>\n            <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.hsforms.com\/1tNyJLC_3RjuVWih9ygK_6A47gef\">and you can subscribe to it right here<\/a>.<br \/>\n            <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/whatsapp-multi-device-feature-detailed-privacy-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#A peek into the tech behind WhatsApp\u2019s new multi-device feature&#8221; WhatsApp \u2014 one of the most used chat apps across the world \u2014 is now testing the most sought-out feature on its app: multi-device support. Currently, you can use the app on only one device, and that\u2019s mostly your phone. You can use the web&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":299591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/plugged?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/alexander-shatov-_qsuER9xYOY-unsplash-e1622715808360.jpg&signature=907cdd8dc275beb1fa2ebe848e1e7302","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-299590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}