Using WhatsApp on a second device while you travel

What WhatsApp means by a linked device

Your WhatsApp account lives on one primary phone, the one you registered with your number. From it, WhatsApp lets you link up to four other devices at a time. The supported list includes WhatsApp for Windows and Mac, WhatsApp Web in a browser, Android tablets, iPad, Wear OS watches and companion phones, which is WhatsApp's name for a second phone running the same account.

Each linked device connects to WhatsApp on its own, and WhatsApp says messages, media and calls stay end-to-end encrypted on all of them. That independence is what makes them useful on a trip: the tablet does not borrow the main phone's connection, it uses its own. Your number does not change in any of this, and neither does it when the main phone uses a travel eSIM for data, as explained in our guide to keeping your WhatsApp number with an eSIM.

How long it works without the main phone

WhatsApp's own wording is short: linked devices work without your phone online, but will log out if your phone is unused for over 14 days. Its article on companion phones puts it the other way round: you need to use WhatsApp on your primary phone at least every 14 days to keep linked devices connected.

There is a second clock. WhatsApp also disconnects a linked device automatically after 30 days of inactivity, meaning that device itself has not been used. And if you log out of WhatsApp on the main phone on purpose, WhatsApp says linked devices remain connected for 14 days after that.

So for a beach day, a dead battery or a phone left in the hotel safe for a weekend, a linked device covers you. For a three-week trip without the main phone at all, it does not: plan to switch the main phone on and open WhatsApp before day 14.

Trip situations where it earns its place

• The main phone stays in the hotel safe and a cheaper second phone or a tablet goes to the beach or the market.
• The main phone runs out of battery on a long day and the laptop is open in the hotel.
• You work from a laptop on the trip and prefer typing replies on a real keyboard.
• The main phone breaks or is stolen, and the tablet still has your chats while you sort it out.

In every case the linked device needs its own internet: hotel Wi-Fi, a hotspot from another phone, or its own mobile data. A tablet with an eSIM can carry its own data plan, as covered in eSIM on iPad and tablets. Keep in mind that a Snoozim eSIM stays on the device where you install it, so a phone and a tablet each need their own, or the tablet connects to the phone's hotspot. For a lost or stolen phone, the steps that matter first are in what to do if your phone is lost or stolen abroad.

Link it at home, because only the main phone can

WhatsApp says you still need your primary phone to register your account and to link new devices. That is the reason to do it before you leave: if the main phone is lost, stolen or dead on day two, it is too late to link anything.

On the main phone, Android: tap the three-dot menu, then Linked devices, then Link a device. iPhone: Settings, Linked devices, Link device. The phone asks you to verify your identity with your fingerprint, face or screen lock PIN, and then you scan the QR code shown on the tablet, computer or browser.

For a second phone, install WhatsApp on it, tap Agree and continue, then open the menu and tap Link as companion device to show the QR code; on an iPhone, tap Use a different number first if it asks. Once linked, the second phone shows This is a linked device. WhatsApp also offers linking with your phone number instead of a QR code.

What a linked device cannot do

WhatsApp lists three features not currently supported on linked devices: viewing a live location, creating and viewing broadcast lists, and interacting with businesses through WhatsApp Flows. The first one matters most on a trip. If your group shares live locations to meet up, the tablet or the second phone will not show them, so keep that job on the main phone, or use one of the other options in our guide to sharing your location while travelling.

History is the other limit. Right after linking, the main phone sends a copy of your recent messages, but WhatsApp says not all messages and chats are synced, and the full history stays on the main phone. An iPad can sync up to a year of recent chat history and an Android tablet up to two years. Messages you delete, for you or for everyone, are deleted on all the devices that are online.

A linked device also cannot become the primary one. The exception is an Android tablet: WhatsApp lets you use one as the primary device, but only if you register the account from the tablet itself, and then it is no longer a linked device.

Logging out from a hotel computer or a borrowed tablet

If you open WhatsApp Web on a hotel business centre computer or on a friend's tablet, log out before you leave it. On the linked device, go to WhatsApp Settings, then Log out. If you forgot, do it from the main phone: open Linked devices, tap that device and tap Log out.

WhatsApp recommends two habits that are worth more when you are away: keep notifications on for WhatsApp on the main phone, so you get an alert if a device you do not recognise is linked, and check the Linked devices list now and then. It also warns that linking your account through unofficial apps or websites can lead to a temporary or permanent ban, so only link the official apps and WhatsApp Web.