Multiple WhatsApp accounts on one phone or PC

You can run two WhatsApp accounts in one app, each with its own number: on Android since October 2023, on iPhone since 2026 (announced in March, rolled out to everyone in June). WhatsApp Business adds a third number on the same phone. On a computer, each browser profile running WhatsApp Web, or the desktop app, holds one account.

Below are the steps for each method, a table comparing them, the apps to avoid because they get accounts banned, and what changes when a team runs five, 20 or 100 numbers. Everything is as of October 2026.

How do you add a second WhatsApp account on Android?

1. 1Open WhatsApp, tap the three-dot menu, then Settings.
2. 2Next to your name, tap the plus icon, then Add account.
3. 3Tap Agree and continue, then enter the second phone number with its country code.
4. 4Enter the six-digit code WhatsApp sends. Tap Verify another way to get it by text or phone call instead.
5. 5Add a name and, if you like, a profile photo and About text.

To switch, tap the three-dot menu, then Switch accounts. Each account keeps its own chats, notifications and privacy settings. The idle one still shows notifications for messages and calls, and you switch to it to read or answer them. Meta announced the feature for Android on 19 October 2023.

How do you add a second WhatsApp account on iPhone?

1. 1Open WhatsApp and tap Settings.
2. 2Next to your name, tap the plus icon, then Add Account.
3. 3Tap Agree and Continue, enter the second number and the six-digit code, then add your name.

To switch, go to Settings and tap the down arrow next to your profile, then the other account, or touch and hold the You tab. WhatsApp announced two accounts for iPhone on 26 March 2026, and WABetaInfo reported that version 26.22.76 brought it to all users in June. Some features, such as adding a payment method, aren't available to the second account on iPhone yet. WABetaInfo has since reported a third account in development on iPhone; when it did, not even beta testers could use it.

What the built-in second account can't do

• Hold more than two accounts. Each needs its own phone number.
• Run on a computer or linked device. A second account can be created only on your main phone, and WhatsApp's help centre says multiple accounts are "currently only supported on mobile devices".
• Switch on linked devices. Each account can have its own linked devices, but only companion phones can switch between accounts.
• Work in WhatsApp Business. The Business app doesn't offer account switching in its regular version; WABetaInfo reported in July 2026 that it was reaching some Android beta testers.
• Keep a removed account's companions. Removing an account from the phone logs its companion devices out 14 days later. Its groups and channels aren't deleted, but anything not backed up is lost.

The second number must be able to receive WhatsApp's code. When the feature launched in 2023, WhatsApp said that meant a second SIM card, or a phone that takes several SIMs or an eSIM. In India, the pending SIM binding rule would, on its wording, require each number's SIM to be in the phone once it is enforced. As of October 2026, the deadline is 31 December 2026, the date the government gave in a Rajya Sabha answer on 2 April 2026.

Can you use WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business on the same phone?

The older route still works, and it is a way to a third number without a second phone. Install the WhatsApp Business app next to WhatsApp and register it with a different number. WhatsApp's own App Store listing says business and personal accounts "can live together on a single device" as long as they use two different phone numbers. The Business app adds a business profile, labels, quick replies and away messages, and it is free to download, with some paid features.

So one phone can carry three numbers: two in WhatsApp and one in WhatsApp Business. The catch is the phone. Every account on it depends on that one handset: lose it, and all three numbers lose their main device.

Dual apps from your phone's maker

Some Android phones can install a second copy of an app. On Samsung Galaxy phones the feature is called Dual Messenger:

1. 1Open Settings, tap Advanced features, then Dual Messenger.
2. 2Turn on the switch next to WhatsApp, tap Install, then Confirm.
3. 3Choose whether the copy uses a separate contact list.
4. 4Open the copy, marked by a small two-circle badge on its icon, and register the other number.

Other Android brands offer something similar under names like dual apps or app clone; search Settings for dual or clone. The copy is the WhatsApp app itself, installed twice, so the usual rules apply to it. Now that WhatsApp handles two accounts on its own, a copy mostly helps when you need more numbers than that, or a separate contact list.

How do you use multiple WhatsApp accounts on one computer?

WhatsApp Web and the Windows and Mac apps are linked devices, and each browser session or app holds one account. The way round it is to give every account its own place to live:

1. 1Create a second profile in your browser. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all support profiles, and each keeps its own logins.
2. 2In the new profile, open web.whatsapp.com.
3. 3On the phone, switch to the account you want there, open Linked devices and link a device by scanning the code.
4. 4Repeat for each account, or keep one account in the desktop app and another in the browser.

Each session is one of that account's four linked devices and follows the same rules: the phone must open WhatsApp at least every 14 days, and a session unused for 30 days is disconnected. A private window works for a quick look, but the session is lost when the window closes. The linked devices limit guide covers the rules in full.

Every method compared

Why to avoid modified WhatsApp apps

Apps such as GB WhatsApp, FM WhatsApp and TM WhatsApp promise extra accounts and features. WhatsApp's help centre names them as fake apps built by third parties and says using one breaks its Terms of Service: the account can be banned temporarily or permanently, or restricted, including from linking devices. They can carry malware, and WhatsApp can't guarantee that chats backed up in them will transfer. If you use one, uninstall it and register the number again in WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business. Why WhatsApp numbers get banned covers appeals.

Be just as careful with any app that asks you to scan a WhatsApp QR code to give you a second account. Scanning links that app to your account with the same access as WhatsApp Web, so it can read new messages and send as you. Link only software you would trust with the account.

Running 5, 20 or 100 numbers

Past three or four numbers, personal methods run out. Every number still needs a main phone, one phone holds three at most without add-ons, and hopping between apps and browser profiles stops working once a team shares the replies. Teams at that size usually move to one dashboard that links each number the way WhatsApp Web does and puts every number's chats in one list.

WavesFlo works that way: each number is linked by QR code from Linked devices, one campaign can spread across all of them, and on the Growth plan and above the shared inbox shows every connected number's chats in one list, with each reply going out on the number the chat arrived on. Scaling campaigns across many numbers explains why volume should come from more numbers, not faster sending. The phones don't disappear: each still has to open WhatsApp every 14 days, and no tool can promise a number won't be restricted.

If the numbers belong to a team rather than one person, see how to manage multiple WhatsApp numbers from one inbox.