WhatsApp on web is a cheap trick and won't make any difference

WhatsApp on web was one feature that millions of WhatsApp users were clamouring for. On Wednesday, WhatsApp gave there users a present. The service can now be used on the Chrome web browser. Support for more web browsers is coming.

While this is good news for people who use WhatsApp, which means almost everyone who has a smartphone, it doesn't really make much difference. People asking for WhatsApp on the web wanted something like Google Chat, which can be used on any platform - computer, smartphone, tablet - without requiring users to be dependent on one device. What WhatsApp offered on Wednesday doesn't give people that.

Let me explain. While WhatsApp has pitched the new feature as WhatsApp for web, actually it doesn't work like one. To use WhatsApp in a web browser you have to sync your phone to your web browser. WhatsApp makes it very easy by using a QR code - a new one is generated every time - when you connect to the browser.

Once connected, your WhatsApp messages are synced with the browser. But it is a two-way sync and the driver, at least in the way WhatsApp has implemented the feature, remains the smartphone. This means if messages can't be synced to the phone in real time, for example in case you lose data connectivity in the phone, you will also lose the ability to send or receive WhatsApp messages from the browser even if your computer has internet connection.

If I have to simplify, it is correct to say that the WhatsApp for web is actually mirroring the WhatsApp on phone. If WhatsApp on phone is not working or stops working, you can't use WhatsApp on web.

This is not a true web service. It may be useful for people in offices, who have to pick and check their phones every time a message comes, but it is not useful if you are travelling and you can't message because there is no data connection in your phone. You still can't log into a WhatsApp account using a web browser and use the service to send messages to your friends in case your phone gets lost or is not working.

It is possible that WhatsApp decided against implementing a native web feature for instant messaging to keep it all simple. WhatsApp is very particular about using a phone number as an ID for each user. For WhatsApp if someone has a phone number, they can get access to the service. If users have some phone numbers saved in their phone, they can connect to these people whether they are actually their friends or not.

To implement the native web functionality will require WhatsApp to move (just a tad) away from its mobile roots. It may give access to people who are not using the service on their smartphones and hence may add a layer of complexity to the whole idea.

These are valid concerns but at the same time some sort of native web functionality is required for WhatsApp. Other instant messaging apps, including Facebook Messenger, allow this functionality. It is true that smartphones are the centre of our digital universe nowadays. But it is also true that we use different kind of devices all the time, depending on where we are and what we are doing. Ability to access WhatsApp natively on the web will go a big way in making transition from device to device smooth for millions of consumers.