10 tips for WhatsApp Desktop app you really should know

WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular messaging app worldwide, amassing more than 2 billion daily users worldwide.

It’s not difficult to see why it got so widespread – it’s extremely easy to use, it’s available everywhere, on both Android and iOS and on the best budget, as well as flagship devices. It has a great feature set, and it provides end-to-end encryption to boot.

Taking all that together, it’s not surprising that the app is now present on almost every phone, and used worldwide to communicate with friends and family, but also to do business and set up important meetings.

How to access WhatsApp on your PC

However, it has to be said that the mobile interface of WhatsApp has its limitations. Sometimes, when you’re working, it’s difficult to look for your phone and respond to every WhatsApp message there. It distracts you from what you’re doing on your PC and is generally much slower than just writing back right then and there, on your desktop.

Fortunately, WhatsApp has a response to that – even two responses. Aside from logging on to your mobile device, you can now access WhatsApp on your desktop PCs and laptops in two convenient ways – using WhatsApp Web or a WhatsApp Desktop app.

In general, using both of these is extremely similar. The UI is exactly the same, as well as the setup process. The only difference between the two is the way you get to the webpage/app itself.

How to use WhatsApp Web

Using WhatsApp Web is the most straightforward. As the name suggests, it’s just a webpage that acts as your WhatsApp client, so opening it is as simple as opening any other webpage. You simply need to visit this webpage and voila – WhatsApp Web is open. However, to access your messages you’ll have to log into your account, Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the WhatsApp Web webpage. It should show you a QR code to scan.
2. On your mobile device, open the WhatsApp app.
3. Tap on the three vertical dots icon in the top right corner.
4. Choose Linked Devices.
5. Choose Link a device.
6. The app will now open your camera. Scan the QR code visible on the WhatsApp Web page.
7. Once the scan is complete, the webpage will reload and it should load in all your messages and conversations. You’re all set and ready to talk now!

How to Use WhatsApp Desktop

Using WhatsApp Desktop is a bit different from WhatsApp Web, as it is a standalone app, not just a browser page. Therefore, to start using it, you’ll have to download a version for you. Here’s the link to a Windows version, and here you can find a MacOS version.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the app, the steps to set it up are almost the same as with the web app. Here’s what you should do:

1. Open the WhatsApp Desktop app.
2. The application should show you a QR code to scan.
3. On your mobile device, open the WhatsApp app.
4. Tap on the three vertical dots icon in the top right corner.
5. Choose Linked Devices.
6. Choose Link a device.
7. The app will now open your camera. Scan the QR code visible in the WhatsApp Desktop app.
8. Once the scan is complete, the app will reload and it should load all your messages and conversations.

10 tips and tricks for WhatsApp Desktop

Once you log into your WhatsApp account on your desktop or laptop, you should also try to master the possibilities of the new app. Here are some tips and tricks that will make you a WhatsApp Desktop pro!

1. Use WhatsApp as a quick file-sharing solution

Sharing files between your various devices can be quite a chore. Fortunately, you can use WhatsApp to send various files between your connected devices. It saves time and hassle! Here’s how to do it:

1. Make a group chat and invite one of your friends there.
2. Remove the friend from the group chat.
3. From the group, choose yourself and save your contact information to WhatsApp.
4. Start a regular conversation with yourself on WhatsApp.
5. Now you can send files, photos, videos and other documents to yourself in a regular conversation.

2. Format WhatsApp messages quickly

Sometimes you really want to emphasize something in your message. The best way to do it is by formatting your text in an eye-catching way, such as adding bold or italics to your message. WhatsApp lets you do it and make your texts even more personal. To use formatting in WhatsApp messages, you simply need to add specific signs before and after the text that you want to format. Here are the formatting options:

• Bold – insert an asterisk ( * ) before and after the text.
• Italics – insert an underscore ( _ ) before and after the text.
• Strikethrough – insert a tilde (~) before and after the text.
• Monospace: insert three backticks ( “` ) before and after the text.

3. Use more than one WhatsApp account on a single device

One WhatsApp account might not be enough for you. Sometimes you have a business account and a personal one, sometimes you just have two numbers to connect to different people. Juggling between them can be tough, but you can easily do it when using WhatsApp for Desktop. You have to remember that you cannot open two different WhatsApp accounts while using the same browser, even if you use different tabs. however, there are three ways of overcoming this:

• Use WhatsApp Desktop to open one account and WhatsApp Web to open another.
• Use WhatsApp Web in your regular browser and open WhatsApp Web in an incognito tab to log into another account (an Incognito browser will not keep you logged in, so you’ll have to scan the QR code every time).
• Use WhatsApp Web in your regular browser and use another browser to log into another WhatsApp account (for Example Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge).

4. Get to know keyboard shortcuts and make your WhatsApp experience even smoother

Using desktop apps has a significant advantage over mobile versions thanks to all the available keyboard shortcuts. They allow you to operate much quicker and make the whole experience easier, once you remember them all. Here are some of the most important ones for your WhatsApp navigation on PC and Mac:

Opening a certain tab in your browser or an app window just to read one message can be quite annoying. When using a WhatsApp Desktop, you can forgo this annoyance very easily by turning on notifications. They’ll appear, showing every text that you receive for a moment, and even allowing you to respond quickly without opening a WhatsApp tab. Here’s how to enable them:

• Open the WhatsApp application/web page.
• Click on the cog icon in the lower left corner.
• Choose Notifications.
• Turn on or off notifications for Messages, Reactions and Calls. You can also choose whether WhatsApp should notify you when the app window is closed, and what types of previews you get.
• Remember that when using WhatsApp Web, you’ll also need to allow notifications in your browser settings. It should ask you automatically if you want to enable them when setting up notification settings on the WhatsApp page.

6. Change the chat wallpaper

Sometimes, looking at the same background when chatting for hours with your friends can get a bit boring. Fortunately, WhatsApp even on a desktop lets you change the chat background, allowing you to shake things up a little. Here’s what you need to do to change it:

• Click the three-dot icon above the chat list.
• Click on Settings.
• Choose Set Chat Wallpaper.
• Change the background of your conversation to whatever you like.
• If you want to disable the doodle-like background, click the Add WhatsApp Doodles and disable it.

7. Turn on Dark Theme for all the night-time messaging sessions

Changing your background is one thing, but when you’re deep into a night-time messaging session, even the windows and menus can be a bit too bright. As is the case with most apps nowadays, WhatsApp has a Dark Mode, which will help your eyes cope with the bright screen and continue messaging without too much strain. Here’s how to turn it on:

• Click on the three-dot icon above the chat list.
• Select Settings.
• Choose Theme.
• Select Dark.

8. Attach files easily using drag-and-drop

WhatsApp is great not only for sending texts but also for sharing various files – be it photos, videos or documents. Of course, the most obvious way of attaching them is using the icons next to the text box, but it’s not the only way of doing that. You can also attach your files by dropping them directly into your chat, making the whole process extremely quick and easy.

9. Quickly attach emojis to your texts

Pure text in messages can sometimes appear a bit dry and formal, and that’s not something you want when talking with your friends or SO. Emojis come to the rescue, but with the sheer number of options, sometimes it’s quite tough to find the one you’re looking for. WhatsApp has a handy feature that lets you look up the exact emoji and insert it right into your chat.

If you ever find yourself needing to insert a particular emoji, do not scroll through the endless list. When Using WhatsApp, you can simply type the colon followed by a few letters of the name of the emoji, and WhatsApp will give you a few suggestions that fit best. For example, if you type “:smi”, you should get suggestions with a smiley face.

10. Read WhatsApp messages without the other person knowing you’ve seen them

There is one more thing that every person (especially one quite keen on a bit of drama) should know. Everyone knows what the magical tics in WhatsApp mean – if you see two blue checkmarks next to the message, it means it’s been read by the receiver and you’re expecting a response ASAP. But, good news – on the desktop, you can read the messages you receive without the check mark appearing!

That’s a dream come true for everyone looking to follow the drama in the group chat without instantly chiming in (or maybe you’ll also find some less-gossipy uses for that too!). Here’s how to check messages without the blue checkmark appearing for the other side:

• Open the chat windows that you want to monitor without being seen.
• Open another window, for example, another browser window or any other app.
• Drag it so it covers the chat window just a little bit, but still allows you to see new messages.

If you make sure that the other window is active – it’s on top of the WhatsApp window and your mouse is hovering over it, not over the messenger window – you should be able to read through the new texts without them registering as seen by you.

What’s the difference between WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop?

WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop look eerily the same, and that’s not by mistake – these two are almost the same app. Therefore, while using them you’re unlikely to see many differences between the two because their feature set and functionality are essentially the same.

However, the biggest difference is already in their names. One of them is a web page that you can use as a messaging app, while the other is a standalone software that you have to download and install on your PC. Both of these approaches have their pros and cons.

WhatsApp Web is great if you want to quickly send some messages on a device that you don’t own or cannot save any files to. Because you don’t have to download and install anything, you can still simply open a webpage, send some texts and log out, leaving no files or installed apps behind.

However, if you’re at home and want something more permanent, without relying on your browser, WhatsApp Desktop is a great little app. It’s still lightweight and as easy to use as the web version, but you get the benefits of an installed app, with your account permanently logged in and notifications set exactly how you want them.

Is it safe to use WhatsApp on a PC?

WhatsApp became so popular not only because it’s so easy to use, but also because of its safety. It’s end-to-end encrypted, so you can be sure that your messages are enjoyed only by you and the people you’re talking to.

If you’re worried that this might not be the case in the desktop version of the app, do not fret – the encryption works the same way there. However, you do have to keep in mind some other things in order to be safe and secure with your private conversations.

Especially when using WhatsApp Web to text someone on public computers, remember that you have to log out of your account when you’re done. If you leave your profile open, any other person using that computer will have access to your personal information, so keep that in mind.

If you forget to log out, do not worry, as there is an easy fix for that:

1. On your mobile device, go to your WhatsApp app.
2. Tap on the three dots icon in the top-right corner.
3. Choose Linked Devices.
4. Tap on the connected device that you want to disconnect.
5. Choose Log out.
6. It’s done – the device is not authorized to access your messages anymore.

However, you should not worry about others being able to log into your account from a browser or a desktop app. The only way to authorize a page or an app to link to your device is to scan the QR code with your mobile device with a WhatsApp account logged in, so you’re in control as long as you have your phone with you.

Also, keep in mind that WhatsApp allows you to keep up to 4 connected devices (other than your phone) connected to one account at the same time. For most people, it should be more than enough, but if you change desktops or laptops a lot, you’ll have to manage your connected devices to keep to that limit.