WhatsApp for Windows

About WhatsApp for Windows

The desktop client exists because typing long messages on a phone is miserable. It is a native application rather than a wrapped web page, which shows in the launch time, the memory use and the way notifications integrate with the desktop rather than sitting inside a browser tab that has to stay open.

Linking is done once from the phone by scanning a code, after which the desktop keeps working independently. Message history syncs across, chats stay in step in both directions, and the client keeps receiving messages while the phone is out of reach. Several desktop and tablet clients can be linked to one account at the same time.

File handling is the practical advantage. Documents, images and archives drag straight from a folder into a conversation, downloads land in the file system rather than in an application sandbox, and copy and paste works properly with the clipboard, including pasting an image directly into a chat. Voice and video calling work from the desktop with a headset or the built in hardware.

The rest is what people already know: individual and group conversations, replies, forwarding, reactions, disappearing messages, starred messages, search across the whole history, and end to end encryption applied to conversations and calls. Settings cover notification behaviour, startup, theme and per-chat muting.

What is included in this build

• Native desktop client rather than a wrapped browser page
• One time linking from the phone with history synced to the desktop
• Several linked devices supported on one account at the same time
• Drag and drop file sending with downloads landing in the normal file system
• Clipboard image pasting directly into a conversation
• Voice and video calling from the desktop
• Search across the full conversation history with starred and pinned messages
• Desktop notification integration with per-chat muting and theme options

Changed in version 2.2631.102.0

• Faster startup and lower memory use on long conversation histories
• Improved file transfer reliability for very large attachments
• Notification handling reworked for the current desktop notification centre
• Better behaviour when the machine wakes from sleep with a stale connection
• Several interface language corrections

Installation walkthrough

These steps assume a clean machine. If a previous release of the same application is present, deal with that first, since an overlapping install is the most common cause of a setup that stops halfway.

1. Extract the archive and run the installer as administrator.
2. Open the linked devices screen on the phone before starting the pairing step.
3. Scan the code shown by the desktop client to complete the link.
4. Allow the client through the firewall when prompted so calling works.
5. Set the notification and startup behaviour in settings after the first sync completes.

System requirements and file details

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