WhatsApp was working on a standalone desktop app to use on Windows PC. Now the app is finally here and available to download, albeit still in a beta avatar and ready to download from the Microsoft Windows App Store. It will be an alternative to WhatsApp Web, which many Windows users have been using until now when they want to use the instant messaging client on their desktop and laptop computers.
With a dedicated Windows application, users will no longer have to rely on browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or others to open and use WhatsApp Web. The system requirements to run the application are a CPU based on x64 architecture and Windows 10 version 14316.0 or higher.
How to download and use WhatsApp for Windows?
Step 1: go to the Microsoft Windows Store
You can open the Microsoft Windows Store by simply opening the Start menu and typing ‘store’. The first result should be the Windows Store app.
Step 2: search for WhatsApp Desktop
Just search for WhatsApp Desktop in the top search bar and you should find the app easily. Click on the ‘Get’ button to start downloading the app.
The WhatsApp Desktop application is available in the Windows Store. (Express photo)
Step 3: set up and use the WhatsApp desktop
Set up the app by entering your details, just like you would when you install WhatsApp on a phone, and you should be good to go.
WhatsApp Desktop: Things to keep in mind before installing
As the app is still in beta, some issues and bugs are to be expected in the early stage. Several users in the review section of the application have reported that WhatsApp Desktop crashes on Windows 11. For a stable experience, we would limit ourselves to using WhatsApp Web for now, especially now that it has support for multiple devices.
WhatsApp Desktop is also as of now heavily dependent on being used with your smartphone and is not standalone. So if you want to use WhatsApp on your PC without the phone, WhatsApp Web via multi-device linking is your only option from now on.
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