With this new privacy feature, users can manage contacts across their linked devices. This means that contacts can be added, edited, or deleted from any device linked to a user’s WhatsApp account, without relying on their mobile phones. For example, people who use WhatsApp on a tablet or desktop can still modify their contact list, and those changes will automatically sync across all their linked devices, providing a more integrated experience. If users disable contact syncing for a particular account, WhatsApp will stop pulling and displaying contacts from that account. This can help maintain privacy, preventing certain contacts from appearing in their WhatsApp contact list on a secondary account.
WhatsApp uses cryptographic hashes to support another layer of privacy protection. These hashes allow WhatsApp to secure the phone numbers of contacts who don’t have WhatsApp accounts while still ensuring that they can monitor for unusual behavior, such as attempts to misuse the contact upload feature.
Contact Syncing privacy options being tested by WhatsApp. | Image credit — WABetaInfo
Despite disabling contact syncing, users can still interact with their existing contacts on WhatsApp. In addition, WhatsApp will automatically restore contacts linked to a user’s account if they switch to a new phone or reinstall the app. This allows for a smooth transition without the need to re-add or recover contacts manually.
Users have full control over their privacy preferences. If they choose to opt out of the new contact experience entirely, they can disable WhatsApp contacts in their privacy settings at any time. This makes it easier for users to maintain their privacy according to their own preferences.
This new privacy feature is available to some beta testers who install the latest updates of WhatsApp beta for Android from the Google Play Store, and it is rolling out to even more people over the coming weeks.
As an avid WhatsApp user who communicates with other users overseas, I think it’s important for users to have more control over their data, and I’m glad to see WhatsApp taking steps to improve user privacy.