WhatsApp has discontinued its app for 1.4 billion users: See if you’re affected and what to do next

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WhatsApp Windows users are in for a surprise as Meta is reportedly now dropping the native Windows app in favour of a WhatsApp Web client, wrapped inside a web view. The change, currently available in beta, marks a disappointing retreat from the company's previous commitment to introduce stable applications for different operating systems, after shifting from web-based servers. Moreover, this new beta WhatsApp web wrapper is expected to use more system resources than the previous version.

WhatsApp for Windows to shift to a web UI interface: Key details

According to a report by Windows Latest, Meta has decided to phase out its native Windows app in favour of a web-based version. This new version essentially packages web.whatsapp.com into a desktop container using Microsoft's WebView2 technology. The shift is now visible in the latest WhatsApp beta for Windows update, which confirms big changes ahead for the messaging platform’s desktop experience.

Any Windows user who updates to the latest beta version of Whatshttp://livecms.moneycontrol.com/technology/whatsapp-switche…ower-performance-13308593.htmlApp from the Microsoft Store will see the web version of WhatsApp while logging in, which will be accessible via Microsoft Edge. The web beta app also allows access to WhatsApp Channels and some incremental upgrades for Communities and Status features. This means that the latest version of Microsoft Edge must be present on the device for this web wrapper to work properly.

According to Meta, this change helps them streamline development by maintaining a unified codebase across platforms, making it easier to push updates frequently. However, the Windows Latest report adds that in its testing, the new version of WhatsApp is using approximately 30% more RAM than the native app. Hence, daily users may find this new experience a bit more resource-hungry.