Dubai: UAE residents now have an option to keep two separate WhatsApp accounts on one mobile phone.
Alcatel, a mobile device brand of TCL Communications, announced on Monday that it is introducing a dual functionality that lets UAE smartphone users run WhatsApp accounts for each number on their dual SIM using just one device.
The company said the new app cloning service can be availed of using selected Alcatel dual-SIM smartphones running Android Marshmallow. The offer is exclusive to handsets in the Middle East and is not available in other markets.
“[This means] that users no longer need to carry two devices or sign in and out of accounts if they have two WhatsApp accounts for different users,” the company said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the company said the specific devices that can use the functionality are Alcatel POP 4 and Alcatel POP 4 6” Phablet.
“By the end of the year, Alcatel will introduce the dual functionality to the rest of its lineup of devices. This feature is exclusive to handsets in the Middle East and is not available anywhere else in the world,” Ruediger Odenbach, Alcatel vice president for Middle East and Africa, told Gulf News.
“Alcatel is the first company to introduce dual functionality as a Native application. While this service is available on other devices, it is not a standard feature and is usually operated by a third-party cloning application,” he added.
