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As one of the most popular messaging services on the planet, there's a good chance you've already heard of WhatsApp. From its humble beginnings in 2009 - two years before Apple introduced iMessage - to its acquisition by Facebook (now Meta) in 2014, WhatsApp has become the dominant messaging platform around the globe. In recent years, it's grown even strong with the addition of new features like video messages, self-destructing voice messages, the ability to edit sent messages, and more. As popular as the WhatsApp mobile apps are for iPhone and Android, it's easy to forget that you can also use WhatsApp on a desktop or laptop computer. The comapny provides native apps for Macs and Windows PCs, plus a web-based version that works in any modern web browser on nearly any platform. WhatsApp Web is a great way to keep in touch with friends, family, and colleagues when you don't have your smartphone handy or you'd simply rather not type out messages on a smaller touchscreen keyboard.
What's more, you can now use WhatsApp Web even when your phone is offline. At one time, WhatsApp needed to be running on your smartphone to relay messages between WhatsApp's servers and the browser-based version of the app. Thankfully, WhatsApp added a multi-device feature two years ago that lets you link up to three other devices directly to your account. There's one small catch in that you'll still need to use WhatsApp on your iPhone or Android smartphone to link up those devices to your account. Since your WhatsApp profile is tied entirely to your phone number, there's no username or password you can use to log in directly; instead, you need to authenticate WhatsApp Web through its mobile apps. This could be a problem if you want to access WhatsApp Web from a new computer and your phone is dead. Otherwise, once you've logged in with your web browser, you can chat away even when your phone's battery is dead or it's offline.
Using WhatsApp Web from your iPhone is easy; just launch WhatsApp Web in Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, or Edge and scan the QR code on the computer with the WhatsApp mobile app from your phone. WhatsApp Web automatically launches in the browser and remains active until you log out from it on your computer or phone. Step 2: Launch WhatsApp on your iPhone. Step 3: On the iPhone, select the You tab in the bottom-right corner, and then choose Linked Devices. Step 4: Select the Link a Device button and authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID as needed. The camera view will open in WhatsApp. Step 5: Hold your phone up to the code on your screen to pair it up. The WhatsApp page in your browser should refresh immediately to log into WhatsApp and show your current list of chats. Step 1: On your Android phone, launch WhatsApp and select the three dots in the upper-right of the Chat page.
Step 2: Select Linked devices and then select Link a device. Use your fingerprint or enter your device passcode if prompted. Step 3: Hold your phone up to the QR code on your computer to pair it. Step 4: Your smartphone account is now linked to the web version of the app. The WhatsApp page in your browser should refresh immediately to log into WhatsApp and show your current list of chats. Signing in to WhatsApp Web is typically done by scanning a QR code on your iPhone or Android phone. If that's not doable, you can also link by entering the phone number of your WhatsApp account, which will give you an eight-digit code to key into WhatsApp on your phone to authenticate the link instead. However, the steps are otherwise the same in either case. Step 1: From the WhatsApp Web sign-in page, select Link with phone number. Step 2: On the next screen, enter the phone number of your WhatsApp account and select Next.
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