Using WhatsApp on Windows? Your experience is about to get slower soon

If you use WhatsApp on a Windows PC, things are about to feel a little different, and maybe a bit slower. Meta is quietly replacing the native WhatsApp app for Windows with a web-based version wrapped inside a desktop container. While it may look similar at first glance, this change could impact performance and the overall experience, especially for power users.

The update is already rolling out in the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Windows. Instead of running as a native Windows app, it now loads the web version of WhatsApp (web.whatsapp.com) using Microsoft’s WebView2 technology. That means the app behaves more like a browser tab than a standalone program, with a more basic settings interface and different notification handling.

Meta says this shift will help simplify development by letting it maintain a unified codebase across platforms. However, early reports suggest the new version uses about 30% more RAM than the native app, which may frustrate users who rely on WhatsApp throughout the day.

The native Windows version, which only launched a few years ago, was designed to work without constantly syncing with a phone and felt more integrated with Windows 11’s interface. The switch to a web wrapper could now make WhatsApp feel less like a native app and more like a lightweight web tool.

That said, the new version does come with some functional upgrades. It supports WhatsApp Channels and includes enhancements to Status and Communities. But it also requires users to have the latest version of Microsoft Edge installed, as the app depends on WebView2 to run.

Meta hasn’t confirmed when the native app will be fully phased out, but the direction is clear: WhatsApp for Windows is heading back to the web.