WhatsApp Launches Desktop Apps For Windows And Mac

WhatsApp has released desktop clients for Windows and Mac, building on the web version of the instant messaging service that was released last year.

The Facebook-owned platform has more than one billion users and hopes the launch of new applications will attract more people and encourage more frequent use.

The apps are available for Windows 8 or later and Mac OS X 10.9 or later, and like WhatsApp Web, require users to have a version of the app installed on their smartphone.

No escape

Indeed, the company says the desktop edition “is simply an extension of your phone”, giving access to all your messages and group chats, but also allowing for personal touches, such as  keyboard shortcuts.

To download the app, users need to visit WhatsApp’s desktop website, where they’ll be given a QR code which they can scan using their mobile app to activate the installation.

Users will also be able to rest easy that their messages cannot be viewed by outsiders, with the new service benefiting from the end-to-end encryption introduced by WhatsApp across all of its chats back in April.

They will also be able to send documents including PDFs using the service, following WhatsApp’s announcement in March that this function would be coming to iOS and Android versions of the app.

These recent moves, along with today’s launch may signify that Facebook, which acquired WhatsApp for £19 billion back in 2014, is planning to target the enterprise.

WhatsApp is already set to scrap its subscription fees, which it had charged users on a yearly basis, although the company has said it won’t be introducing advertising to compensate for this.

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