WhatsApp Web now lets you message through desktop, unless you’re iOS

22 Jan 2015

WhatsApp has finally answered the requests of many of its users by introducing WhatsApp Web that allows them to send and receive messages through a desktop computer.

Announcing the news on its blog, the Facebook-owned company confirmed its new web client that will automatically sync a user’s conversations on a desktop computer with those on his or her phone.

The service is activated once the user scans the QR code through the dedicated site so as to confirm the connection with his or her phone.

However, ruling out many of its users, WhatsApp has said users on iOS will be unable to use the service, which it blames as an Apple issue due to its own ‘limitations’.

“Unfortunately for now, we will not be able to provide web client to our iOS users due to Apple platform limitations,” reads the blog post.

Otherwise, WhatsApp Web is open to Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone users, so long as they maintain an internet connection and battery power on their phones – otherwise, they will lose the desktop service, as well.

WhatsApp Web is also currently only available on the Google Chrome browser but available for use as of now.

The news comes less than a day after WhatsApp began clamping down on third-party clients of its instant-messaging service – in particular, WhatsApp Plus. WhatsApp shut down WhatsApp Plus’ service and banned its users for 24 hours.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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