WhatsApp update means users can now message themselves

(AFP via Getty Images)

WhatsApp will finally let people talk to someone they never could before: themselves.

On some platforms, messaging oneself is a useful way of storing information, or transferring it between devices. Some chat apps, such as Slack, encourage using a conversation with yourself as a way of jotting down notes.

But others, including WhatsApp, have not let people talk to themselves at all. With a new update, however, it is becoming possible.

With a new version of the app for iOS and Android, users can now start a conversation with themselves. The feature is rolling out slowly and may not be available for everyone yet, but should arrive automatically.

If it is available, then users can start a new chat, and will see themselves listed at the top of the screen, alongside a message encouraging people to “message yourself”. It is available in the iOS version 2.22.23.74, and Android version 2.22.23.77.

Messaging oneself can be a useful way of jotting down information without leaving the chat app, for instance. It can also be a useful way of getting information or files from one device to another, since many chat apps including WhatsApp can be used across different platforms.

If someone sends themselves a picture from their phone, for instance, then it will be available on the web version of WhatsApp so that it can be used on there.

WhatsApp has recently added improvements to the feature that allows people to sign in on other devices. Newer versions of the app allow people to use the same account on multiple devices, where they will stay signed in – where previously other versions of the app simply mirrored the phone, and required it to stay turned on.

Before now, texting oneself on WhatsApp was only possible using complicated workarounds. The most straightforward one was to create a group and then kick out other people who were in it – which could be annoying to anyone else involved.