whatsapp下载 is one of the most popular apps available right now, with over a billion downloads globally. It's an all-in-one chats app that allows users to message to friends, watch videos, listen to music, make calls, and send GIFs. You can download and install WhatsApp on your desktop – here's how.
How to use WhatsApp on your PC
Before you begin, you'll need to download and install the WhatsApp Desktop app. Once that's done, you can use the app just like you would use the regular mobile app — you receive messages, make calls, and send texts. However, because the app is designed to be used on a desktop, there are a few things you need to know before you start using it.
Known issues
The app is far from perfect, and it has some known issues that you need to be aware of before you start using it. The developers are aware of these issues and are working on fixing them, but in the meantime, here's a short list of things you need to know:
- The app is extremely slow.
- There are occasional crashes.
- Some people have had trouble connecting to mobile networks when using the app (especially in China).
- The GIF search feature occasionally doesn't work.
- The app is not fully optimized for macOS users.
- And the list goes on.
Compatibility
Whatsapp is available for Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS, and Android. If you have one of those devices, you can download the app and use it without any issues. However, if you're using a different operating system, you might encounter some problems — especially if you're using a computer that's more than 4 years old.
Settings
The settings you need to know about are pretty self-explanatory. When you launch the app, you'll see a screen with your name, the word ***** (this is your WhatsApp ID, which you can change), and the logo for WhatsApp. Under that, you have a little hamburger menu that contains all the app's settings. If you click on that, you'll see a screen with all the app's configurations, which are pretty much self-explanatory as well.
Privacy
Whatsapp is quite the popular app right now, but that doesn't mean it's safe to use. In fact, the developers know that there's a major privacy concern whenever an app that's this popular goes viral — it simply means that there are more than enough people using it that the developers have to take special steps to protect your personal data. To that end, they have put a lot of thought into this issue and have developed a personal data manager to keep track of all your private data (like contact lists, photos, and videos) — you can turn this feature on or off in the settings menu.
To recap, here's what you need to know before you use WhatsApp on your PC:
- The app is extremely slow.
- There are occasional crashes.
- Some people have had trouble connecting to mobile networks when using the app (especially in China).
- The GIF search feature occasionally doesn't work.
- The app is not fully optimized for macOS users.
- And the list goes on.
Features
Apart from being a pretty cool looking app, WhatsApp has some pretty cool features that you might find useful. If you're looking for a free app that can send GIFs and videos to your friends, this is the one for you.
First of all, there's the ability to send videos up to 1 GB in size (the largest video that can be attached to a WhatsApp message is normally 200 MB). This means that you don't have to settle for small snapshots when you have big events or adventures to share — you can record the whole thing and send it to your friends. If you have a decent webcam, you can even use it to record your own videos and share them with your friends. If you're on the go, you can use your Android device's built-in camera to video chat with your friends (assuming your phone supports video calling — some older devices don't).
As for the GIFs, most people have them on their phones already — they are often used in mobile communication tools like WhatsApp and Signal to show how a certain message or concept relates to something else. If you want to insert one into a document or presentation, you can use software that can do that — like the free Impress Gif Creator from Imagraph, which is designed to be used with any presentation tool (like Microsoft PowerPoint).
To give you an idea of how powerful this app can be, here's a pretty famous animated GIF of Kanye West performing at the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony, followed by a message from Taylor Swift.
If you have a short video (like the Kanye West one), you can also add a few seconds of animation by using an online generator. This is an easy way to add some life to your presentation — or to just make your friends laugh.
Alternatives
If you're looking for a free app that'll give you all the features discussed above, you can try Kik. It's a bit more like WhatsApp, with one big difference: You can't send large videos or GIFs to other people via Kik. Therefore, if you want to share large media files, you'd have to host them on your own server (which costs $25 a month with Amazon Web Services). It has all the basics — text, video, and voice chats — and it also has a task manager that lets you schedule events and have people join you remotely.
Final verdict
Whatsapp is a powerful app that'll take your productivity to the next level. Not only can you use it to make free calls and send/recieve texts, but you can also use it to host live chats with up to 500 people (for free), send large videos (up to 1 GB) to your friends, and search through a database of over 500,000,000 photos to find the one you want. If you're looking for a cross-platform app with a massive social media following, this is the one to download.