WhatsApp is a cross-platform messaging app that allows making video and voice calls, sending chat messages and sharing audio, images and video files. Since it was first released in 2009, WhatsApp has been downloaded by more than one billion users and is used in more than 180 countries.
Triggered by the app’s popularity, developers of the app now made it available on the web. Functioning as an extension of your Whatsapp on your mobile device, Whatsapp web is not a separate instant messaging app but acts as a sort of mirror to an existing account. Your phone connects to your computer and syncs messages and your activity in WhatsApp.
Setting up Whatsapp Web on your Desktop
To install and make WhatsApp Web work on your computer, ensure that internet connection is available on your desktop and mobile phone. Next, go to the link: http://web.whatsapp.com/ using your computer. Note that you can pair your phone to your desktop using Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox and Opera.
Look for a QR code that you can scan with the WhatsApp phone app. In order to find the scan option, read the instructions you will see on the screen. After scanning the code, you can now see your WhatsApp messages in both your mobile device and the browser.
Before proceeding to install WhatsApp Web, it’s important to also note that the app has reduced the number of platforms it supports. For now, these are only for Android, iPhone 8.1+, Windows Phone 8.0 and 8.1, Blackberry and Blackberry 10, Nokia S60 and Nokia S40 EVO.
For Android users, launch WhatsApp and from the Chats screen, go to Menu > WhatsApp Web. The steps are the same with Nokia S60 and Windows Phone. Conversely, for iPhone users, go to Settings > WhatsApp Web. For Blackberry, proceed to Chats > Menu > WhatsApp Web and for Blackberry 10, swipe from the bottom of the screen and select WhatsApp Web. For Nokia S40, swipe from the bottom of screen and proceed to WhatsApp Web.
Meanwhile, a new WhatsApp challenger has resurfaced and is known as Amazon Chime.