Currently, WhatsApp can be connected on your smartphone and also your computer, but it has limited functionalities as it can frequently get disconnected — especially when the phone has a poor connection, its battery is running low, or the application process gets killed by the phone’s OS.

But with this new feature which is currently in beta and will be rolled out to a small group of users, WhatsApp said “You can now use WhatsApp on your phone and up to four other non-phone devices simultaneously — even if your phone battery is dead. Each companion device will connect to your WhatsApp independently while maintaining the same level of privacy and security through end-to-end encryption that people who use WhatsApp have come to expect.”

Since its launch in 2009 as a smartphone messaging app, WhatsApp has garnered more than two billion users around the world.

In a tweet, Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp said “Our multi-device capability immediately makes the experience better for people who use desktop/web and Portal. And it also will make it possible to add support for more kinds of devices over time.”

How WhatsApp will handle security challenges for multiple devices

This new feature has a flaw such that other people can maliciously log into your WhatsApp by surreptitiously adding your device to their account to see your private conversations, but WhatsApp said, “We have extended security codes to now represent the combination of all of someone’s device identities so that anyone and their contact can always verify all the devices they are sending messages to. We also give people additional control and protections over which devices are linked to their account.”