The ability to use WhatsApp through PC has been a long awaited feature by all WhatsApp users. There are ways to use WhatsApp in PCs using BlueStacks Emulator et all, but they need some setting up to be done and is also not easy on the memory usage while it’s running. So the wait for an official release continued. And finally, WhatsApp has responded by unveiling WhatsApp Web, a browser extension to the mobile application installed in your Android/Windows/BlackBerry/Nokia S60 devices. The feature is not currently available for iPhones due to platform limitations.

So, how do we set it up? Let’s get started. Since I’m an Android user, below are the steps for setting it up with an Android app. The steps are pretty straight-forward once you have the right version of the mobile app.

1. Make sure your WhatsApp app for Android is updated to a version no older than v.2.11.498. If you haven’t received the update yet from Play Store, install it manually by downloading the apk file from the official WhatsApp website. The new version will be installed as an update over the currently installed version in the phone, and you won’t lose any data.

2. Make sure WhatsApp Web feature is available by pressing the Menu button in phones that has a physical button or press the 3-dots settings icon on the top-right section in the app. You should be able to see the option WhatsApp Web.

3. Press the WhatsApp Web option. A barcode scanner will open up within the app to pair the device with the web version of WhatsApp.

4. Now, go to the WhatsApp Web webpage. A QR code will be displayed on the page, ready to pair with your device. At the moment, only Google Chrome works with WhatsApp Web.

5. Scan the QR code using the barcode scanner within the mobile app. Once the device is paired, the webpage will reload and you will now be able to see the web version of your WhatsApp app in your phone.

You can now start/respond to messages, open media files just like you do in the mobile app version. You only need to make sure the phone is always connected to internet, since the web version is merely an extension of your mobile app the connection to the webpage will be lost if the phone loses connectivity to internet.

You can also enable microphone to record audio messages as well as desktop notifications to receive notifications for new messages even if the browser is minimized.

That’s it! Let me know your thoughts, and have a good day!