The new option allows users to log in using an email address when a cellular connection is unavailable.
The popular mobile app WhatsApp is rolling out a new login feature in which users will be able to use their email address to log in when they don’t have a cellular connection available.
Accounts will still need to have an active phone number associated with them to be valid.
That said, the new feature makes it possible to link an account on the mobile app that already has a phone number associated with it to an email address as well. The feature has already been added to a beta release of the application. All it needs is for a user to enter an email address within the application and then use a verification link to confirm that the email address does indeed belong to that user.
Once the email address has been added, it can be used to log into the application using the six-digit verification code.
Adding an email address to the account will be quite straightforward. In the beta version, all that needs to be done is to access the Account Settings menu, where a new “Email Address” option has been added. The user must add the desired email address, confirm it with the link in the verification email, and everything is set.
Many people have wanted to have a secondary login option on the mobile app that doesn’t require SMS.
Travelers in particular have wanted to use the feature on a device when they are out of the country and find it challenging or expensive to receive an SMS message. Many travelers rely on WiFi when they’re away, turning off their data so they don’t accumulate huge roaming charges.
The email login feature has been added to the current WhatsApp mobile app beta version for both iOS and Android, 2.23.24.10. Assuming that everything goes smoothly with the beta users, the assumption is that it won’t be very long before the feature starts to role out in the full standard version of the application so everyone can use it if they want to.