WhatsApp’s Desktop App Now Available From the Microsoft Store

WhatsApp is releasing its desktop app on the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 PCs today. It’s been a long time coming.

Nearly 9 months ago, a mysterious listing of the WhatsApp desktop app showed up on the Windows Store. The listing was updated a couple of times over the last few months, but it was never available for download to regular Windows 10 users. All of that changes today.

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WhatsApp’s desktop is a web wrapper for its web app, but functionality wise, it’s actually pretty brilliant. You can share multiple files, look at your contacts’ Status updates, share pictures, insert emojis, edit your profile, and more. It also comes with push notification support.

WhatsApp is the newest app to join the Microsoft Store’s growing collection of popular desktop apps. Spotify launched its desktop app a few months ago, with Apple set to release iTunes on the Microsoft Store sometime very soon. Microsoft’s Office suite also launched just last week.

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Conversation 16 comments

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    31 January, 2018 - 4:50 pm

    <p>Apologies if this is a dumb question, but can you send and receive messages using this? My mother in law recently got an iPad and was very disappointed to learn that WhatsApp didn't offer an iPad app. I don't use WhatsApp but it made some sense to me since it is based on a phone number. It looked like there were third party apps should could use on the iPad but the reviews were a mixed bag. In some cases they couldn't send messages, and in some cases it looked like you could send messages but you needed to have your phone nearby. Anyway, just wondering how this will work on Windows 10.</p>

    • JCerna

      Premium Member
      31 January, 2018 - 5:01 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#241943"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>So you can use Whatsapp on a device with out a sim as long as you can verify the txt message they send. For example you could use google voice or another service to receive the verification txt. After that you can just use wifi. So I am guessing that is how its going to work. Also Microsoft is currently pushing the LTE capable windows 10 devices so they may be marketing it for those also.</p>

    • Bart

      Premium Member
      31 January, 2018 - 5:02 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#241943"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yes, you can send and receive messages as long as your phone is connected to the Internet as well </p>

    • leonzandman

      31 January, 2018 - 7:39 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#241943"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>It’s a wrapper for the WhatsApp web app. So yes, you can send and receive messages. However, it works by connecting over the internet to the WhatsApp app running on your phone. So it’s basically a remote for your phone’s WhatsApp app. This means you must have a phone that has a working/configured instance of the WhatsApp app and it has to have an active internet connection. Also. this Windows 10 app need to have access to the internet.</p>

  • digiguy

    Premium Member
    31 January, 2018 - 6:15 pm

    <p>This is an exact copy of the desktop app (that works also on windows 7) What I don't like is the lack of spell check… So I keep using a browser…</p>

  • arunphilip

    31 January, 2018 - 9:24 pm

    <p>The full-fat thick-client (www.whatsapp.com/download/) is 133 MB (setup files), and this Store version weights in at 400 MB. I guess that's progress for you. </p><p><br></p><p>Oddly enough, WhatsApp's download page doesn't have a link to the Store app, at the time of writing this comment. </p><p><br></p><p>Functionally, the Store version appears to be identical to the earlier thick-client version I was using, so that's good news. I've now uninstalled the thick-client version and installed it from the Store. </p><p><br></p><p>To me, the advantage is that this brings app updates centrally in the Store. Not that the WhatsApp thick-client's update was shabby, it would periodically update itself seamlessly from the client itself. </p><p><br></p><p>The article states "<em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">WhatsApp’s desktop is a web wrapper for its web app</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">". To me, it feels like the store app is a wrapper for the thick-client app, and not the web app at web.whatsapp.com. Unless the thick-client app is itself a wrapper for web.whatsapp.com. </span></p>

  • Sandy

    31 January, 2018 - 9:48 pm

    <p>I don't see it in the Microsoft Store app (on Windows 10 Pro x86-64 version 1709); does anyone have direct link to the Store app?</p><p>Is it limited to certain countries only?</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      01 February, 2018 - 2:48 am

      <blockquote><a href="#242029"><em>In reply to Sandy:</em></a></blockquote><p>It appeared as the 5th or 6th WhatsApp app in the store for me (Germany). I had to look 2 or three times, it doesn't really stand out against the rip-off apps.</p>

      • karlinhigh

        Premium Member
        01 February, 2018 - 9:57 am

        <blockquote><a href="#242062"><em>In reply to wright_is:</em></a><em> it doesn't really stand out against the rip-off apps.</em></blockquote><p>Does anyone know why app stores all try to look like movie-poster media-consumption sites? Instead, why not have a "details view," allowing sort &amp; filter by publisher?</p>

  • paul1664

    01 February, 2018 - 2:30 am

    <p>I think it's Electron (Atom, VSCode), not PWA or basic web wrapper.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2018 - 9:10 am

    <p>Neat! If their service wasn’t so weird and hackneyed, I might use it!</p>

  • Varuna Singh

    01 February, 2018 - 9:36 am

    <p>WhatsApp needs My People integration. That would make it great for a lot of people and Windows. I guess this could be a step in that direction ? Maybe add the integration layer in future versions ? </p>

  • PeteB

    01 February, 2018 - 11:35 am

    <p>Pointless, bloated, centennial-wrappered version of the desktop program that itself was just a converted web app written in Electron. That's two layers of laziness. About as far from native UWP as possible. Doesn't integrate with People, nothing.</p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft must've begged them to wrapper their webapp for appearances sake for the Windows 10 Store, but you're better off just getting the chrome extension or desktop program for less than half the filesize and bloat.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • IanYates82

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2018 - 3:56 pm

    <p>Direct link to the actual Store app rather than a scammy rip-off: https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NKSQGP7F2NH</p><p><br></p><p>It's not too hard to spot the scam ones but it's a shame that the real one, for me at least, appeared 4th in the list of apps in a search. </p>

  • nageshroy

    24 October, 2018 - 3:07 pm

    <p>See if it is available or not; else you can go with <a href="http://zewhatsapp.ooo&quot; target="_blank">zewhatsapp</a> which is actually a mod with lots of features.</p>

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