If you count yourself among those who use WhatsApp for Web on a daily basis but wish it had more of the native app’s features, you’re in luck. The company recently rolled out a couple of changes to the interface so it mirrors the experience of chatting through your smartphone even better.
For those unaware, WhatsApp for Web is a desktop version of the popular messaging application. It was first launched in January with a basic UI. Now the interface includes functions to change your profile photo and status, as well as options to control chats and groups.
In the settings menu of the chat window, there are new choices to remove and archive single chats and mute, archive or exit groups. WhatsApp has also included keyboard shortcuts for easy access, though this function is probably still being fine-tuned, points out Android Police.
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Single and group info pages now contain a large red delete button marked ‘Delete Chat’ and ‘Exit Group’, respectively. You can also change a group’s icon and subject. Additionally, there’s no need to update WhatsApp for Web to view these changes since they’re server-triggered.
These improvements are relatively minor, but it does make WhatsApp smoother to engage with from the desktop. The company currently has 800 million monthly active users worldwide and is working to add more in the face of competition from other messaging services such as Hike, WeChat and Line.
If you want to give these changes a spin, head over to WhatsApp for Web. It’s compatible with Chrome, Firefox and Opera. The latest version of the app needs to be installed on your handset for it to work, as long as it’s an Android, Nokia, BlackBerry or Windows phone. Apple users will have to wait their turn since there’s no news on compatibility for iOS.