WhatsApp users on Windows have enjoyed a dedicated desktop application. For years, they took advantage of a seamless and integrated messaging experience. However, WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, is now poised to make a significant shift. The preferred native WhatsApp for Windows app will soon be phased out in favour of a web wrapper and replaced by a new web-based version. This represents a strategic shift for Meta, but it has significant implications for users that are crucial to understanding.
The end of the native WhatsApp for Windows app
The original WhatsApp for Windows app was built on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) or WinUI. It received significant favouritism among users due to its performance, reliability, and tight integration with the Windows operating system.
The reason it was designed was to give it an authentic desktop application feel, offer faster load times, optimize notifications, and generally provide a smoother experience. Most users liked its single-process operation, which worked on relatively fewer system resources. This native approach enabled deeper system-level features such as superior calling capabilities and screen sharing. Hence, it became a preferred choice for endless users.
Nevertheless, developing and maintaining a separate native application for each platform (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS) is a resource-intensive and time-consuming process for developers. Often, this leads to feature disparities, where new functionalities arrive on mobile versions much faster than on desktop versions.
Meta’s new direction for WhatsApp – A web-based experience
Meta’s replacement for the native Windows app will be a web-based wrapper that essentially packages the web.whatsapp.com experience into a desktop container using Microsoft’s WebView2 technology. This strategic pivot mirrors a similar transition as seen with Meta’s Messenger app on Windows.
The clear core motivation behind this shift is a unified codebase. With a single web-based foundation, Meta can streamline development, introduce new features more quickly across all platforms, and ensure a consistent user experience across all platforms. It means the features, including WhatsApp Channels, enhanced Status updates and Communities, which were often first seen on the web or mobile, will now simultaneously arrive on the desktop.
What does it mean for the users?
The unified codebase is advantageous to Meta; nevertheless, there are several key implications for the Windows users:
- Performance and resource usage – According to early reports from beta users, the new web-based WhatsApp version may consume more RAM and system resources compared to the older native app. This is because of the nature of WebView2, which runs multiple subprocesses, much like the operating processes of a web browser. Users using older or less powerful machines might notice a slack in performance.
- User interface and native feel – The new app’s interface closely mirrors WhatsApp Web, which means departing from the traditional Windows design elements. The “native” sense of the older app, which many users appreciated, will be diminished. The reason is that it will behave more like a browser tab enclosed in a desktop window.
- Notification behaviour – Since the notification delivery will also be altered, the new version will potentially feel less integrated with the Windows Operating system’s notification centre.
- Relinking accounts – A few users have reported being logged out and having to relink their WhatsApp accounts after updating to the new beta version.
- Microsoft Edge WebView2 dependency – Users will need to have the latest version of Microsoft Edge installed to ensure optimal performance, as WebView2 leverages its rendering engine.
The future of WhatsApp on desktop
This transition signifies that Meta is adopting a broader strategy for web-based interfaces in its desktop applications. While these are offering development efficiencies, the trade-off for users could be a less optimized and potentially more resource-intensive experience in comparison to purpose-built native applications.
Conclusion
The native WhatsApp app for Windows was discontinued as of May 24, 2025. Meta is now encouraging users to transition to the new, unified WhatsApp Desktop application. The new version has been developed to achieve feature parity with its latest mobile and web counterparts. Users who valued the smooth, integrated experience of the older native app may need to adjust to a different desktop paradigm.
