WhatsApp adds multiple passkeys, upgrades two-step verification

WhatsApp announced on Tuesday that accounts can store multiple passkeys and that the app will replace the current six-digit two-step verification PIN with a longer password that can include letters, numbers and special characters.

More than 1 billion people already use a passkey to sign in to WhatsApp. The update allows a user to save more than one passkey per account to keep passwordless access available when switching between iOS and Android devices.

Two-step verification will move from a six-digit PIN to a full password. The new password can be longer and include alphanumeric and special characters for account recovery and verification.

WhatsApp also introduced a caller context feature for Android. When a call arrives from a number not saved in contacts, the app shows the caller’s country and whether the caller shares any WhatsApp groups with the recipient. In a statement, WhatsApp wrote, “Scammers rely on urgency – now you can take a beat with some more info before answering.”

The announcements follow a recent optional Scam Alert feature that uses artificial intelligence to flag suspicious messages from people not in a user’s contacts.

WhatsApp is owned by Meta. The company did not give a rollout timeline for every market. Multiple passkey support and the new two-step verification password are being introduced broadly, while the caller context feature is initially limited to Android devices.