WhatsApp Launches Desktop Version Web Browser

In an effort to reach users, mobile instant messaging ,Whatsapp has unveiled its web version, beginning with the Chrome web browser and a possibility for extension later.

Now available for Whatsapp Android, Windows Phone,Nokia and BlackBerry users, the web client is an extension of Whatsapp on the phone which fetches messages from the phone to the computer.The firm said due to limitations with the Apple platform, iOS users will not have access to this services.

“For trials, the https://web.whatsapp.com on Google Chrome browser asks users to scan a QR code inside WhatsApp on mobile phones then the browser is paired with the phone and the browser reflects WhatsApp from the phone directly to the desktop”.

Just recently, WhatsApp announced it had hit the 700 million active users mark, up 600 million in August and the firm said, every day the users send over 30 billion messages.

Launching on the web will give it more active users especially those who want bigger screens to share, watch their WhatsApp videos and pictures and listen to music.

The version will also help the Facebook-owned firm to take on Viber, Line, Skype, Hangout, among others which already have desktop versions.

The new messaging service currently only works with Google’s Chrome browser and will not be available to iPhone users “due to Apple platform limitations,” as per a communication from WhatsApp.

The acquisition highlighted the stunning growth of mobile messaging but also prompted analyst to question the price paid by Facebook and future plans for the service.