WhatsApp Messenger, the cross-platform instant messaging, voice, and video calling app used by over a billion users worldwide, extended its support for PC with its WhatsApp Desktop app on Windows 8 and Windows 10 back in 2016. However, the desktop app, downloaded through www.whatsapp.com, was a ‘classic’ Win32 app, and not a native Windows 10 app built on Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform.
However, today, WhatsApp has finally launched its app in the Microsoft Store after the company tested the app with a limited number of users as part of their desktop app beta program. Though a store app, this version too isn’t built on Microsoft's native Universal Windows Platform (UWP). The app looks to be a version of the existing desktop app, packaged using the Desktop App Converter for Project Centennial.
The app packs a list of useful features that include sharing files of various types, editing profile information, sending GIFs and emojis and viewing status updates. WhatsApp Desktop's inclusion into the Microsoft Store comes on the heels of other popular apps making it to the Microsoft Store, including Microsoft's own Office applications and Spotify.
As with all desktop versions of the app, WhatsApp Desktop for Microsoft Store is an extension of the mobile app that needs to be used in conjunction with the phone, accessed using the ‘WhatsApp Web’ menu under Settings. Also, for those that prefer the web version, WhatsApp Web can be accessed at web.whatsapp.com.
Head to the link here to download WhatsApp Desktop from the Microsoft Store. The app download size is approximately 250MB and according to comments from the source link, it isn't yet available in all regions so you may have to wait for it to become available in your country.
Source: MSPoweruser
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