Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has announced that users can now own multiple accounts on an Android smartphone.

"What's better than having a WhatsApp account? Well, of course it's having two. Today, we're introducing the ability to have two WhatsApp accounts on Android logged in at the same time," the messaging giant says in a statement.

The feature, according to WhatsApp, will be helpful for switching between accounts – such as work and personal. "Now you no longer need to log out each time, carry two phones or worry about messaging from the wrong place," the Mark Zuckerberg-led platform says.

To set up a second account, users will need a second phone number and SIM card, or a phone that accepts multi-SIM or eSIM. WhatsApp users can open settings, click on the arrow next to their name, and click 'Add account'. They will also be able to control privacy and notification settings on each account.

"As a reminder, only use the official WhatsApp and don't download imitations or fake versions as a way of getting more accounts on your phone. Your messages are only secure and private when using the official WhatsApp," the company says.

The announcement comes a month after WhatsApp said its users in India can now make purchases and send payments using rival UPI apps, debit and credit cards. WhatsApp Flows gives businesses the ability to create customised experiences right within chat threads, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said virtually at the company's Annual Conversations conference in Mumbai. "A bank can build a way for customers to book an appointment to open a new account, a food delivery service can build a way to place any order from any of their partner restaurants or an airline can build a way to check in for a flight and pick up a seat, all without having to leave the chat thread," he said. The messaging platform has partnered with fintech players like Razorpay and PayU to enable payments.

The new feature makes it possible for WhatsApp users to shop using Alphabet's Google Pay, Walmart's PhonePe and homegrown digital payments app Paytm. "With payments in India, we're going to support other payment methods as well, including all UPI apps. This is going to make it even easier for people to pay Indian businesses within a WhatsApp chat using whatever method they prefer," said Zuckerberg.

In 2022, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) allowed the company to onboard up to 100 million users for its payments service, WhatsApp Pay. That's around a fourth of its overall user base in the country. WhatsApp has over 400 million monthly active users in India.

According to Zuckerberg, India leads the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging as the better way to get things done.

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WhatsApp users can now have 2 accounts on an Android phone