Facebook Inc.-owned messaging platform WhatsApp already has over a billion people using their app. The company has now launched a desktop app version of their popular messaging app for Windows and Mac users. The news comes over 15 months since WhatsApp launched its web version of the app.

The desktop app works in a similar fashion to the web version and as WhatsApp noted in its official blog post “our desktop app is simply an extension of your phone: the app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device.”

If you use WhatsApp a lot and want to avoid having to pull out your phone every two minutes to check your latest message, follow these steps to download the WhatsApp desktop app for Windows or Mac. You can then WhatsApp while you work all on one screen.

How to setup the WhatsApp desktop app for Windows and Mac

• To download the WhatsApp desktop app you will need Windows 8 or later. If you are a Mac user you will need OS X 10.9 or later.
• Go to WhatsApp’s download center and download the version for Windows or Mac.
• Once the download and install is complete, the desktop app will open and you will need to scan the QR code with your smartphone.

– For Android users: Open WhatsApp on your phone > Menu > WhatsApp Web.

– For iPhone users: Open WhatsApp on your iPhone > Settings > WhatsApp Web.

– For Windows Phone users: Open WhatsApp on your phone > Menu > WhatsApp Web.

– For Blackberry users: Open WhatsApp on your phone > Chats > Menu key > WhatsApp Web.

– For Blackberry 10 users: Open WhatsApp on your phone > swipe down from the top of your screen > WhatsApp Web.

– For Nokia S60 users: Open WhatsApp on your phone > Menu > Whatsapp Web.

• You can then use your phone to scan the QR code displayed on your desktop screen.
• Your WhatsApp account, together with your contacts, chats and calls will be mirrored onto the desktop version.

• As the desktop app is a mirrored version of WhatsApp on your phone, you will need to ensure your phone has a data connection or is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Remain secure: If you use a shared computer make sure you log out of WhatsApp on your desktop or else everyone using the computer will see your WhatsApp messages. You can log out in the app, under Menu > Log out.

If you are already away from the machine you can also log out via your smartphone. Follow the same process above for scanning the QR code. When you tap WhatsApp Web you will see a message that you are logged in and when you were last active > tap Log out from all computers > Log out.

Use WhatsApp on the Web

If you would prefer to use the web version of WhatsApp over the desktop version, you can follow the setup instructions below.

• Go to: https://web.whatsapp.com/
• Scan the QR code using WhatsApp on your smartphone. Follow the QR code scanning instructions above for Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Phone.
• Once you have scanned the QR code your WhatsApp messages will display in your browser.  

Image credit: arivera via Pixabay