On Tuesday, Meta announced it will discontinue WhatsApp’s native Windows app and replace it with a web-based version wrapped in Microsoft’s Edge WebView2 technology.
This shift takes users back to a browser-like experience, sacrificing the app’s native performance and sleek design to simplify development and unify the app’s codebase across platforms.
Web wrapper replaces native Windows app
The move means WhatsApp on Windows will no longer be a standalone app but a container for its web version.
While the user interface remains mostly the same, functionality has been reduced.
Notifications behave differently, the settings menu is now more basic, and the app uses about 30% more RAM than before, according to tests conducted by Windows Latest.
Unlike the previous native app that ran natively with the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) and WinUI, the new version relies heavily on web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, running inside Microsoft Edge’s WebView2 framework.
This change ended the native experience WhatsApp launched in 2016 and later improved with Windows UI designs.
“WhatsApp has previously highlighted that its native Windows and Mac apps provide increased performance and reliability,” but users will now see a downgrade, as the new app is less optimised for Windows, slower, and more resource-intensive.
What users gain and lose with the update
Meta claims that the new web wrapper app brings some new features, like improved Status and Communities sections and the addition of WhatsApp Channels in the beta version.
These additions reflect Meta’s strategy of consolidating feature development into a single codebase for better long-term maintenance.
However, many Windows users are disappointed due to the heavier RAM usage, loss of native Windows design elements, and altered notification handling.
Moreover, the native app’s ability to run independently without constant phone syncing—a favourite feature—will be missing.
Users may experience a less seamless experience, matching the functionality similar to simply accessing web.whatsapp.com in a browser.
An official WhatsApp support document hints at this downgrade in functionality, implicitly acknowledging the trade-offs involved.
WhatsApp’s transition to this web-centric model illustrates Meta’s approach to prioritising cross-platform uniformity over platform-specific performance.
This leaves Windows users with an app that’s easier for the company to maintain but arguably worse to use.
This shift sparks debates around app quality and user experience, especially given the app’s widespread use for personal and professional communication on Windows devices.