Soon you will be able to receive app codes directly on WhatsApp. Will the new feature help you get rid of your text messages? Here’s what it’s all about.

Remember when texting was the only way to send messages to your friends and family? With the spread of mobile devices, SMS users have become a rare species, close to extinction. It’s also the fault of messaging platforms like WhatsApp, which allow you to send text messages (and not only) to your friends for free.

And, with the latest news coming within the messaging app owned by Mark Zuckerberg, things could get even worse. In the new SDK (the software development platform used by programmers to implement new functions in WhatsApp) you can turn WhatsApp into a two-factor authentication app. Obviously, the messaging app will not produce “one-time” codes, but it can be used to receive codes instead of SMS. In short, the umpteenth blow to SMS, which may soon disappear.

WhatsApp will replace SMS: this is how

WhatsApp has just completed its first ten years a few months ago: they seem few, but the road taken is a long one. Among the greatest achievements is that of having practically stolen the scepter from SMS, which until about a decade ago were the most used to send and receive text messages.

Now the messaging app is preparing to unleash the coup de grace. SMS are still used by various web services to send and receive authentication codes, those short numeric strings required for verification in two steps. But now the Zuckerberg application is about to introduce a big function. The novelty has been confirmed on the Facebook Developers website by Calvin Mak. With the new SDK it will be possible to receive on WhatsApp the verification codes to be used to certify one’s identity on applications. Of course, the SMS option will remain active, but it will only be an alternative, especially useful for those who may not have a connection (rare but possible) or is still fond of the old methods.

How will the WhatsApp option work?

On the official website of the messaging app some images of the new feature available to developers have been released. The process will be very simple: once you enter your phone number on the application’s home screen, users will have several options. These include the ability to use classic SMS or WhatsApp. After choosing the channel, they will receive the code there. The buttons will then be distinct from each other but the goal will be to allow the user to access the applications and prove that he is the real owner of that phone number.