WhatsApp may introduce standalone desktop chatting app: report

Mumbai: Facebook-owned WhatsApp is undoubtedly one of the best chatting platforms available currently; with over a billion users, the messaging app has come a long way since it started its journey six years earlier.

While the chatting app has added numerous enhancements to it’s Android and iOS versions over the past few months, word from the rumour mills suggested that the company are currently planning to roll out a standalone desktop application for for Windows and Mac OS users.

Several new media reports pointed out that a Twitter account, not affiliated to WhatsApp, posted images indicating that WhatsApp might be working on a standalone version of the app.

The existing version of WhatsApp Web, which was introduced last year, is just a mere extension of the application (web client) for replicating the mobile content on a desktop and that too utilising your mobile data. Besides, the fact that the browser always has to be open makes it even more inconvenient.  

While the leaked images hinted that the company is currently developing the standalone app, nothing has been confirmed by official sources yet.

If the app is introduced, it will be advantageous for a lot of professionals who have to spend most of their time sitting in front of a desktop computer.

Over the past few days, WhatsApp has been in the news regarding its fate in India due to it’s incorporation of advanced 256-bit encryption.

Read: WhatsApp end-to-end encryption: a boon or bane?

The chatting app is currently facing a mixed bag reaction in India, as one section of the crowd is supporting the move and another section is questioning its reliability.

Read: Ban WhatsApp in India, petition filed in Supreme Court

An RTI activist from Gurgaon, Sudhir Yadav, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a complete ban on the messaging platform WhatsApp. Moreover, the service was temporarily banned in Brazil for 72 hours on the same grounds.