by Muyiwa Matuluko

Following the detailed rumours, WhatsApp has finally announced a featured everyone has been waiting for. That’s right, you can now access WhatsApp from your PC. This feature is available only for Android, Blackberry Nokia s60 and Windows Phone users (No iOS for now).

Geeks had already found workarounds to using WhatsApp on the PC. Most of which required software (like Bluestacks and Andy) that allowed you install stand-alone versions of WhatsApp. The disadvantage to such workarounds was that you could not use the same WhatsApp account simultaneously on phone and PC.

WhatsApp’s official solution works differently. It works exactly like AirDroid which basically mirrors an extension of any app interface onto your PC. But while AirDroid still requires installation of software, WhatsApp Web requires nothing but your browser. Here’s how to go about it.

• Update to the latest version of WhatsApp on your phone.
• Using your browser (Google Chrome only) navigate to web.whatsapp.com. You should see a page with a big QR code on the side.
• Inside WhatsApp, open ‘Menu’ and look for ‘WhatsApp Web’. (Blackberry 10 users have to swipe from top)
• Point the screen to scan the QR code within WhatsApp. The rest is taken care of.
• (optional) Choose if you want to receive notifications for new messages via Chrome notifications. Dazall!

You can use WhatsApp Web any time by navigating to web.whatsapp.com on Chrome. Follow the same steps to install WhatsApp on any number of PCs.

Bear in mind this solution requires that your phone is always connected to the internet, for the web client to work. So if you have a very limited data plan or no access to Wi-Fi, use this feature with caution.

Muyiwa