WhatsApp is about to become easier to log into on the iPhone. That’s thanks to a new feature, already on Android phones, which is being rolled out to Apple phones now.
WhatsApp just got much easier to use.
April 27 update below. This post was first published on April 24, 2024.
The company announced on April 24 that the new feature was coming, in a post on X which reads, “passkeys are rolling out now on iOS…a more secure (and easier!) way to log back in with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.”
It goes on to explain why you might like to use this feature.
First, it says, “it’s a more secure way to login and lets us know it’s really you.” Then, it says, “traveling? no network? no problem… passkeys let you skip the SMS code.”
That’s a definite advantage to avoid the SMS confirmation code which sometimes takes an age to arrive (or, as WhatsApp says, can’t come at all if you don’t have service).
Though it’s also true to say that if you don’t have a network connection, the uses of WhatsApp are somewhat curtailed.
Passkeys, as you will likely know, use the iPhone’s biometrics such as Face ID or Touch ID for login, for example. You can already unlock the app with these biometrics but this new addition takes things a step further and is a definite step up in terms of convenience.
Passkeys work by storing an authentication credential on your device, and this pairs with one saved by the app or service, such as WhatsApp, that you want to access.
Note that it hasn’t reached every iPhone yet, but if you want to turn it on, here’s how you do. First, open the app and go to Settings and from there to the Account section. Here, if the feature is live, you’ll see an option marked Passkeys. If it’s not there, practice patience. If it is there, tap it.
Engadget pointed out that “Passkey verification will make logging back into WhatsApp easier and more secure. We’re excited to launch this on WhatsApp and give users an added layer of security,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product, said in a statement.
April 25 update. And more convenience is already at hand, this time for Android users. As reported by Abner Li at 9to5Google, an extra level of instantaneous access has just been provided for users of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Until now, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro would only allow users to use the fingerprint sensor or PIN code to unlock WhatsApp.
Now, face unlock is available, too. Facial recognition is a system often considered less secure, apart from on the iPhone, so is not used for every feature. On the Pixel 8 Pro it can be used for tap-to-pay and banking apps.
And now for WhatsApp as well. If the camera can’t see you, the app requires a fingerprint unlock after a few seconds, but if it can, then a light circles the camera as the unlock occurs.
It’s another example of WhatsApp ensuring it can offer a strong balance between security and accessibility.
April 27 update. These features are among a slew of design updates to the app, and not all of these have been welcomed—so while convenience and accessibility are key to WhatsApp’s design changes as well, it’s a reminder that responses to the way things look come down to personal taste.
As noted in the last few hours by Andrew Griffin at The Independent, color changes can be particularly divisive. Though the gradual rollout of new design elements, to what the company calls a “new, updated look,” it’s only arriving for many users now. WhatsApp described it like this: “We’ve made some changes to how WhatsApp looks and feels, including spacing, colors, icons and more. These changes bring a modern, new experience to WhatsApp and make it more accessible and easier to use.”
Now, leaving aside whether an app as recent as WhatsApp has ever looked anything other than modern, the color change has stirred up controversy. As Griffin points out, “ ‘I’ve never seen an uglier shade of green than whatever is going on WhatsApp,’ wrote on person on X/Twitter, in a post that has since been shared 5,000 times. ‘WhatsApp too green for me [right now],’ wrote another.”
The shade of green is being updated to match the brand color, the company says, using different colors in the app “more intentionally so you can focus on the things that matter most on the screen,” WhatsApp has said.
If you are one of the people who dislikes the new design and colors, be warned, you may have to just deal with it.
WhatsApp says, “Everyone who uses WhatsApp will eventually receive this update, so it’s not something you can opt out of. If you can’t see these changes yet, there may be a short wait before they reach everyone.”
Different changes are coming for iOS and Android users, and there are more extensive changes, such as ramifications for the placement of the search bar. Not all changes add to convenience, as the complaints so far show, but perhap they will become second nature soon enough.
