WhatsApp has introduced a significant update for its Apple Watch app, enhancing user awareness regarding account pairing. This new feature aims to improve transparency around connected devices, particularly in sensitive situations, such as abusive relationships, where users might unknowingly have their accounts linked to another person's watch.
The latest WhatsApp beta, build number 25.37.10.71, brings a new section titled “Peripherals” to the Linked Devices interface. This allows users to see the name of the paired Apple Watch and its last active time. However, users cannot unlink the Apple Watch directly from the iOS app; they must delete WhatsApp from the watch to unpair it.
Additionally, build 25.37.10.72 has been released, featuring enhanced chat and storage management tools. Users can now clear chat storage with new options to delete specific message types or media categories. They can choose to remove documents, photos, videos, stickers, and audio files, or clear all media at once, while also viewing the storage used by each category.
No timeline has been provided for the official rollout of these features, but their introduction in the beta suggests they may be available soon.