# WhatsApp lets one account hold several passkeys, closing the cross-platform gap

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/blog/2026-08-25-whatsapp-multiple-passkeys-per-account/
Last updated: 2026-08-29
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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Meta announced on August 25, 2026 that a single WhatsApp account can now register multiple [passkeys](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/passkey/), managed under Settings, Account, Passkeys. The practical effect is that someone carrying both an iOS and an Android device no longer has to bind their phishing-resistant credential to one platform's sync fabric. Meta also upgraded WhatsApp two-step verification from a six-digit PIN to a full alphanumeric password, and gave Android users more context on calls from non-contacts, including origin location and shared group membership. WhatsApp shipped passkeys on Android in October 2023 and iOS in early 2024, and Meta says over a billion people now use them to sign in.

## Why it matters

Single-passkey-per-account was one of the quietest adoption blockers in consumer [passwordless](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-passwordless/). If a user can only hold one credential, losing the device means falling back to SMS, and a cross-platform user has to pick a sync ecosystem and stay in it. Allowing several credentials per account is the same lesson enterprises learned with hardware keys: always enrol at least two. If you are designing a [CIAM](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-ciam/) login, copy this shape. Support multiple credentials from day one, make the enrolment prompt appear on a second device rather than at first sign-up, and keep the recovery path honest about what happens when every registered device is gone. Our [passkey rollout checklist](https://startwithidentity.com/templates/passkey-rollout-checklist/) covers the enrolment and recovery decisions.

Source: [The Hacker News](https://thehackernews.com/2026/08/whatsapp-adds-multiple-passkeys-for.html)