How to Use WhatsApp on a Computer – WhatsApp for Windows & Mac

WhatsApp is an instant messaging App originally made for use with a mobile device only. But as time goes on, the company begin to see need to develop a WhatsApp for computers to enable users stay in touch anytime and anywhere – whether with phone or computer, both at home or working place.

The WhatsApp for computer was then developed and released as WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp for PC. The WhatsApp desktop app is available for Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10, and Mac OS 10.9 and higher versions of Mac. In this article, you are going to learn How to use WhatsApp on a computer (WhatsApp Web).

Using WhatsApp on a computer now is extremely simple and easy to setup. When the WhatsApp web was not available, people still use it on a computer but the process was a bit hard and complicating because you have to workarounds with BlueStacks to be able to use WhatsApp on your computer. First you Install a BlueStack on your computer, Get the WhatsApp Android app downloaded on your computer and then tricking it into thinking it’s on a mobile device.

To start using WhatsApp on a computer, you don’t need to download and install anything, not even bluestack, the only tool needed is just your computer browser, maybe your Chrome, Firefox, or Opera browser for Windows or Mac. And the latest version of WhatsApp for Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry or iPhone.

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To setup WhatsApp on computer, you will first ensure have you have it downloaded on your phone. Some would like to Download WhatsApp on their system instead of opting for WhatsApp web, but you’d like to do that, Take a look at Whatsapp for PC and you may find it more interesting! Here‘s how to get started.

How To Setup WhatsApp on a Computer – WhatsApp Web setup

Like i said earlier, all that is required to use WhatsApp on a computer is just a browser, there is nothing to download, it’s only our browser and latest version of whatsApp on your phone. To get started, visit https://web.whatsapp.com.

How to Use WhatsApp on a Computer

You should now see a QR code on the screen. There’s a checkbox to keep you signed in so you don’t have to scan a new QR code every time you want to use WhatsApp on your computer.

Step 1: On your phone, launch the WhatsApp app and tap on the menu button. On Android, it’s the three dots at the top right of your chat list.

Step 2: You’ll see an option called WhatsApp Web. Tap on that and a QR code scanner will pop up.

WhatsApp on a computer

Step 3: Scan the QR code displayed in your browser.

WhatsApp on a computer

Step 3: After scanning the QR code in your phone to match the one displayed on your computer,  you’re done!

WhatsApp on a computer

WhatsApp Web Setup on computers using iPhone

Setting up WhatsApp web on a computer using an iPhone is almost the same process as the one we described above using android phone, the only difference is that the iphone WhatsApp setting have a different look from the android phones. Anyways, follow the steps below to setup WhatsApp web on your computer syncing with iPhone.

Step 1: open the web browser in your computer and visit https://web.whatsapp.com/

Step 2: Launch the WhatsApp App on your phone 

Step 3: On the WhatsApp Setting, tap on “WhatsApp web Desktop” to open the QR code

Step 4: Scan the QR code to match the one on the phone with the one on your computer and you are done!

WhatsApp on a computer

WhatsApp Web Features

WhatsApp Web is a tailored down version of the normal whatsApp for mobile phones.  Basically majority of the WhatsApp features are found on the WhatsApp web but some features might be lacking, in case you notice that but WhatsApp are updating regularly, so more features will definitely be introduced to match them both.

Start new private chats

At the top, you’ll see a chat icon where you can pull up a list of your contacts to start chatting with. Your current chats are listed in the main menu already.

WhatsApp Web is limited to starting new private chats so you’ll have to start a group chat on your phone. This is a minor annoyance but not a deal breaker.

Type new line using Shift + Enter

Many users are asking if it’s possible to change the Enter key from sending a message to creating a new line instead. You can’t change the keyboard stroke but you can simply create a new line in a message by pressing Shift + Enter.

Take or attach pictures

I’m happy to see that WhatsApp Web supports attaching photos. At the top of your chat, there’s a paperclip icon. Click on that to choose between using your web cam to take a photo or attaching one. It works just like it would on your phone.

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If you do want to use your web cam to take a photo, your browser will ask you for permission to access your camera. Click on Allow and your camera can now take a picture of you.

Snooze notifications and toggle sounds

In the menu, you can toggle sounds if you want to chat in silence. You can also snooze notifications for one hour/day/week if you’re being overwhelmed. You can disable desktop alerts altogether as well. If you leave desktop alerts on, you’ll get a pop up every time you receive a new message.

View contact info

To the right of the paperclip icon is the menu button (three dots). Clicking on this gives you the option to view your contact’s info.

For private chats, this includes a contact’s phone number, profile picture and status. In group chats, this option displays who’s in the group chat and their names/phone numbers.

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Conclusions: Make sure your phone is charged always.
Setting up and using WhatsApp web is super easy but there’s one bit limitation that will irk some users: your phone has to be connected to the internet in order to use WhatsApp on a computer.

This is because WhatsApp Web relies on the WhatsApp app on your phone to send and receive messages. This also means that there’s a possibility of you going over your bandwidth cap if you’re constantly sending photos over cellular data. You can fix this by making sure you’re on Wi-Fi whenever possible.

If your phone’s out of battery, you’re out of luck. Keep your phone plugged in or make sure it has a healthy amount of juice to keep chatting on the web.

Have questions about WhatsApp? We answer the most common questions here.

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How to use WhatsApp on a computer – WhatsApp for Windows & Mac