WhatsApp Is Now Available On The Desktop

According to Forbes.com,WhatsApp has launched a desktop client service called WhatsApp Web. WhatsApp Web can be used by scanning a QR code with your phone to log in. WhatsApp Web mirrors the conversations and messages from your mobile device so your messages will still live on your phone.

There are several limitations with WhatsApp Web. The biggest limitation is that iOS devices are not supported. WhatsApp Web is accessible through Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry or Nokia S60 devices. You will need to have the latest version of WhatsApp installed on your phone and you have to run WhatsApp Web from the Google GOOGL +2.05% Chrome web browser. WhatsApp plans to launch WhatsApp Web for iOS users, but that timeframe is unknown. The reason why WhatsApp Web is not available for iOS now is due to “Apple AAPL +0.71% platform limitations.”

Why do you have to take a picture of a QR code to log into WhatsApp Web? WhatsApp uses phone numbers and SMS  to verify users instead of traditional usernames and passwords. This is why you do not see a normal login screen. TechCrunch also pointed out that it somehow uses your phone for more than just the initial login. If you phone dies, then your WhatsApp Web session also disconnects.

Earlier this week, a third party app built off of WhatsApp called WhatsApp+ shut down after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the messaging service. WhatsApp also temporarily banned users that downloaded and actively used the WhatsApp+ app.  WhatsApp+ allowed users to change the colors and background images in chat conversations. It also allowed users to block people from seeing when you read their messages and offered the ability to increase the size limit of audio and video files. WhatsApp+ was downloaded over 35 million times since launching in 2012. “Our goal is always to keep WhatsApp fast and secure for the people who use it – it’s the most important thing we do,” said a WhatsApp spokesman in an interview with BBC. “Third-parties that have built unauthorized functionality on top of WhatsApp create issues for people including lost messages.”

WhatsApp was created by Brian Acton and Jan Koum in 2009. The two of them left Yahoo! in 2007 and applied for jobs at Facebook, but failed during the interview process. In February 2013, WhatsApp hit 200 million active users. One year later, Facebook announced that they acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion — which is the largest purchase of a company backed by venture capitalists. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the acquisition of WhatsApp was connected to his vision for Internet.org, an initiative to develop basic Internet services for developing countries around the world. Now WhatsApp has over 700 million active users sending over 30 billion messages per day. In the product development pipeline, WhatsApp also has plans to launch a voice-calling service.