WhatsApp Mac Beta With Native Apple Silicon Support Now Available to All Users

[sw1tcher]

I’m lost why What’sApp gets such positive promotion here on the regular?

Maybe it's because it's the most used messaging app in the world?

Psst! There are other countries besides the U.S.

Messaging App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2023)

Over three billion people have used messaging apps in 2021, making them one of the most popular app types. For most people, mobile messaging consists of two platforms: Facebook and WhatsApp. Collectively, over 2.5 billion people use one of these two platforms, in some markets the two apps hold...

www.businessofapps.com

Key messaging app statistics

• Over three billion people actively use messaging apps around the world
• WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app, with 2.4 billion users, followed by Facebook Messenger
• WhatsApp is also the most downloaded messaging app of 2020 and 2021

Top messaging apps

WhatsApp: The most popular messaging app in the world, with over five billion downloads and two billion active users

Most popular messaging apps 2022 | Statista

As of January 2022, two billion users were accessing the WhatsApp messenger on a monthly basis.

www.statista.com

 

[renatolevanteze]

WhatsApp is by far the most used messaging app in Brazil. Almost all businesses use it for client interaction. Large businesses even have virtual assistants dealing with clients instead of using web based chat.

It is used within government (as an informal way of communicating). Even some parts of the justice system uses WhatsApp to notify plaintiffs or witnesses.

I would dare say it is the most important online based tool currently in use in day to day life in Brazil.

 

[fwmireault]

I tried the beta app, it is so much better than the previous web client. I hope they also bring it soon to iPad

 

[Capeto]

Yeah, 90% of my contacts use WhatsApp and while I'm no fan of Meta, it's not like I can convince everyone to use a different platform. Glad it's finally coming with native Apple Silicon support!

 

[svish]

Good to see this available.

 

[Stalonium]

Wow, it's so much faster. My main issue with the old app was how slow it launched.. that issue has basically completely disappeared with this version.

 

[fakestrawberryflavor]

We Intel Mac owners have only a few years of updates left I'm afraid.

Their days have been numbered long ago, at least back to Nov 2020.

 

[fakestrawberryflavor]

As an American working for a Global Company in Asia. I have to use iMessage, Line, Kakotalk, WhatsApp, and Signal for all of our Out-of-Band discussions that we don't want on the corporate MS Teams. I literally juggle 6 chat apps every single day as part of my workflow, depending on who I'm talking to and when. Its really a huge pain in the ass lol.

 

[tonyr6]

I don't know anyone that uses it in the states. I'm not young, not involved in crime, and don't live in Asia (I hear it is heavily used there). So I'm just am old fuddy duddy.

Most of my friends use WhatsApp as do my father and we live in the states.

 

[v0lume4]

Finally! Always fascinating to see reactions from Americans on here re: Whatsapp. Here in London, 95% of my contacts use iPhones and yet I exclusively use Apple Messages for 2FA codes and tracking updates. Virtually all green bubbles. Funny how iMessage quietly died down over the years. I know a few Apple hardcore fans who use iMessages but for the most part, Whatsapp is the universal app here.

Now it would be great if the 3-4 spyware apps (can you believe they still ise McAffee) my company installs on my M1Pro MBP moved to AS. The constant use of Rosetta means I never had more than 4.5 hours of battery on my 14-inch.

McAfee has a Mac app?!

 

[v0lume4]

In Australia no one really uses WhatsApp, probably because every mobile plan here has unlimited text messages and Australia has never charged to receive texts. Foreigners will tend to use it here, but WhatsApp is strongly associated with scammers in Australia in my experience.

Interesting! Do you guys use your default texting apps, the same way we do here in the US?

 

[A.wang28]

In Australia no one really uses WhatsApp, probably because every mobile plan here has unlimited text messages and Australia has never charged to receive texts. Foreigners will tend to use it here, but WhatsApp is strongly associated with scammers in Australia in my experience.

I must be living in a different version of Australia to yours.
Everyone around me uses WhatsApp for group messages. I am curious to know how else group messaging can work with a mixed iOS-Android situation...

 

[R3k]

Good. The App currently runs like crap. Slow to open.

lol at the comments saying no one uses it in Australia or that it’s not common in the US.

I use it in both places and also Europe. It’s the most compatible messaging outside regular SMS, and much easier than that for international messaging as you don’t need to worry about country codes or fees or messages that arrive an hour late.

 

[MacClueless]

I live in the States and use WhatsApp to talk to my friends in other countries that don't have iPhones. I don't know why people assume that something they don't personally use must be bad.

Really? I don’t use personally use heroin, but I’m pretty confident it’s bad.

I don’t personally use any Meta products, because I know about their business model and practices.

 

[MacClueless]

lol at the comments saying no one uses it in Australia or that it’s not common in the US.

It’s not exactly up for debate… the majority of Americans and Aussies don’t use it. 🤷‍♂️

WhatsApp market share worldwide by country 2022 | Statista

As of April 2022, Brazil presented the highest share of WhatsApp users, with around nine in 10 messaging app users in the country engaging with the social and instant messaging app.

www.statista.com

 

[frenchcamp49er]

WhatsApp is end to end encrypted , and has been for a while , way before iMessages(iCloud) which just got end to end , lol

I've got some ocean front property in Nevada I think you'll be interested in, I'll make you a great deal.

 

[contacos]

No one outside of Europe seems to use it for the most part. Why Europe seems to use it so much is beyond me.

Huh that’s not true at all lol it is used for everything in Latin America. My sister booked her whole wedding stuff via WhatsApp for Business in Mexico. I also saw the logo all over the Philippines and India. The UAE as well

 

[Kylo83]

Why is it not out of beta it’s been in beta for ages it should be ready

 

[JimmerJabber]

The intel version crashed frequently for me, and took ages to open.

Just downloaded the public universal beta. Opens instantly. No crashes (yet! fingers crossed). All good so far!

 

[MayaUser]

In Australia no one really uses WhatsApp, probably because every mobile plan here has unlimited text messages and Australia has never charged to receive texts. Foreigners will tend to use it here, but WhatsApp is strongly associated with scammers in Australia in my experience.

you dont know what are you talking about...now messages are not just text, but with movies/photos and so on
And how can you know what millions of australian do ?

 

[Kulfon]

Available on iPad in 2032!!!

 

[**maestro**]

Available on iPad in 2032!!!

And Apple Watch in 3032!!!

 

[k27]

WhatsApp belongs to Facebook and is pretty bad from a privacy point of view. Convenience is not everything. There are better alternatives like Signal, but macrumors rarely reports about them.

"The greater threat to privacy on WhatsApp, however, comes from another place: It is the metadata that reveals as much about people as the content of their conversations."

Metadaten: Wo das eigentliche Privacy-Problem von WhatsApp liegt

Hat WhatsApp ein Problem mit der Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung? Ein Investigativbericht aus den USA legt das fälschlicherweise nahe. Deutsche Medien greifen die Meldung auf und übernehmen das schwierige Framing. Darüber gerät die eigentliche Gefahr aus dem Blick. Ein Kommentar.

netzpolitik.org

How Facebook Undermines Privacy Protections for Its 2 Billion WhatsApp Users

WhatsApp assures users that no one can see their messages — but the company has an extensive monitoring operation and regularly shares personal information with prosecutors.

www.propublica.org

 

[Frixos]

I don’t like WhatsApp. I use it because so many people use it.

One example of why I don’t like it: I’m in a WhatsApp group with a bunch of people I don’t know (school group). Then suddenly people in this WhatsApp group appear as “suggested friends” on FB even though we have 0 mutual friends.

 

[mr.bee]

WhatsApp is end to end encrypted , and has been for a while , way before iMessages(iCloud) which just got end to end , lol

end to end encrypted lol, ALL the other things besides the actual message IS NOT. They also link the IG & FB to the data they gather on Whatsapp. So they don't know what you're saying, but they do know to whom you are sending it, when and from where and who that person is on IG & FB....