WhatsApp Launches New Desktop App for Windows PCs

WhatsApp has added another way for users to stay in touch, with a new desktop app for Windows PCs.

As you can see here, the new WhatsApp for Windows, which is now available in the Microsoft store, provides another means to log into your WhatsApp chats via your PC, in a more integrated, streamlined manner.

As explained by WhatsApp:

“WhatsApp Desktop users have been using our web-based desktop app (WhatsApp Desktop) or our browser-based app (WhatsApp Web). As we’re always trying to improve the WhatsApp experience for our users, we’re developing apps native to Windows and Mac operating systems.”

Indeed, desktop users, including businesses, have been able to log in to WhatsApp for some time, so functionally, this is not a major shift. But the new native Windows app will provide increased reliability and speed, while also facilitating more integrated notifications, and better design, which is optimized for desktop systems.

That could make it easier to keep track of all of your various social engagements in one place, while for brands, it will also help to further integrate your customer service efforts into a more centralized hub, with all of your key platforms accessible from your main workstation.

Which could be particularly important, given that more and more sharing activity is switching to private chats.

When social media first arrived, it was a novelty to be able to share your perspective with the world, via your own broadcast platform to help you get heard and seen. But over time, the negatives of that process have pushed more people away from public sharing, which has since seen the rise of ephemeral content, private groups, and messaging apps.

Just recently, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri noted that ‘all the growth in photos and videos from friends has been in stories and in DMs’.

People are not as interested in public engagement as they once were, which is why providing more means to connect via DMs is important – and for brands, facilitating such within your process could be key to maximizing conversion.

As such, why adding WhatsApp connection on desktop could be significant, and it’s worth considering how it might fit into your broader social management system.

In addition to this, WhatsApp also says that a native Mac version of the platform is also in development (you can download the beta version here).