WhatsApp update will finally make it easy to add people by just scanning their QR code

Adding new contacts is currently one of the most frustrating things users have to do on WhatsApp

Amnesty believes a hacker tried to break into a staff member’s smartphone by baiting the employee with a WhatsApp message about a protest in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

WhatsApp is finally making it less painful to add new people to talk to, allowing users to add new contacts just by scanning their phones.

The company appears to be working to integrate QR codes into the app, allowing for the easy adding of new friends. The new feature is similar to tools rolled out by Snapchat and other companies in an attempt to make it easier to add friends.

To bring it up, users will choose the option to share their contact data – when they do that, a QR code will show up. Your new friend can then hold their phone up to yours, showing the screen and its QR code to the camera, at which point WhatsApp will see it and fill in all of the contact details.

The changes were spotted by WABetaInfo, a Twitter account that tracks upcoming changes to the app. It noted that it could prove useful for businesses, which would be able to show their QR code on websites or even in real stores and allow customers to more easily get in touch with them.

WhatsApp is also said to be improving the more traditional way of adding contacts, which at the moment is one of the most frustrating things to have to do on WhatsApp.

The new feature will replace the old, complicated way of adding new contacts and instead just allow people to type a phone number into a big field. It will detect whether that person is on WhatsApp as soon as you do – and, if they are, pull through their information so that it can be easily added to your address book.

The features have been spotted in the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS. Such updates usually come to the main versions soon after they arrive in the beta one, if they are approved, meaning that the new contact features could arrive on both iPhones and Android in the coming weeks.