Alternative apps to
In a future release you could add the command to break a line in the message, in that way is possible to send a title leave one break line and then show the url. It previously wasn't officially possible to send or receive WhatsApp messages from your desktop, be it on Mac or Windows, but on 10 May 2016, WhatsApp announced its new desktop app.
WhatsApp for Windows and Mac: - 409 votesSkype is free and simple software that will enable you to make free calls anywhere in the world in minutes.
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- 126 votesThere are no limits. Call and message as much as you want.
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- 627 votesMake calls, send messages and much more - freely and securely. Viber works on most Android, iOS, and Windows 10 devices, as well as Mac and Windows computers.
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- 109 votesTelegram is the best alternative to Whatsapp. It’s multiplatform, simple and free.
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- 26 votesFranz is a free messaging app that combines chat & messaging services into one application. Franz currently supports Slack, WhatsApp, WeChat, HipChat, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Hangouts, GroupMe, Skype, and more.
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- 26 votesSkype allows users to communicate with peers by voice using a microphone, video by using a webcam, and instant messaging over the Internet.
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- 24 votesTrillian is a multinetwork chat client that currently supports mIRC, AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo Messenger.
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- 9 votesReal-time messaging that works. Get full access to your messages and archives, upload files easily, and receive notifications whether you’re at your desk or on the go.
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Whatsapp, the world’s most popular messaging service, has over 800 monthly active users worldwide as of April 2015. Unfortunately though, the app is only available for smartphone, and even though it has a web version, it isn’t a good replacement for the desktop app. And with other messaging platforms such as iMessage, Viber, etc. already having desktop apps available, the WhatsApp omission is a weird one.
Now, if you do indeed want an app for WhatsApp on your Mac OS X, you may want to check out WhatsMac. WhatsMac is basically a free download from GitHub, and it takes WhatsApp and brings it to the Mac in the form of an app that looks and feels like Apple’s own iMessage.
With the above-mentioned app, Mac users will be able to use all WhatsApp features: sending and receiving audio, video, images and text. Users must sync their active WhatsApp accounts with their phones to start using WhatsMac. Notifications of new messages are received through the OS X Notification Centre, so that’s another plus, too.
Currently, media uploading doesn’t work except for drag-and-drop, but you can at least have proper conversations using the app on your Mac, right? It’s not much of a loss.
For those who are curious how this works, WhatsMac is actually a wrapper to the web-based WhatsApp messenger client, but it’s so well done that you probably won’t notice that. The app is also open source, so if you’re interested, you can even poke around and see how the whole thing works, interacting with WhatsApp on the Web. You’ll need to scan the QR code from a compatible WhatsApp mobile app to get it working (if there is a way around that, let us know, since that is a limitation for iPhone users).
On your phone, click on “Settings” in Whatsapp and select “Whatsapp Web.” There you’ll have the option to scan a QR code. Scan the code that is presented by WhatsMac to sync both apps together.
Currently, as we understand, the method doesn’t support iPhone users yet. We haven’t tested it out on an iPhone ourselves, so we can’t confirm that. Do let us know about that in the Comments section below.
Unfortunately, if you’re waiting and hopeful of a native OS X app for Whatsapp, it isn’t looking like there is any possibility for that in the near future. Facebook, the current owner of Whatsapp, doesn’t offer a native app for Windows/OS X users. This makes it hard to believe that the social media site will be doing anything for its subsidiary, what it hasn’t done for itself, anytime soon.
Still, nobody knows if one day we might see the arrival of native desktop apps for both the aforementioned services, maybe even sometime soon.
You can download WhatsMac from GitHub, but be sure to use it at your own discretion, especially if you’re using an iPhone. Also, be sure to tell us whether it worked for you in the Comments section below and also mention how you found the overall design and functionality of the app.