There are so many apps these days that have both mobile and web versions - in fact, it's increasingly rare to find mobile apps that aren't accessible from your desktop or laptop - I found four apps in particular that I had loaded when I opened the browser on my computer Tabs appear more often than you launch them on your smartphone.
While there's a lot to be said for the mobile versions of these apps (especially the ability to shoot photos and videos directly), having access to a larger screen and a proper keyboard makes a huge difference.
If you've never used these apps on Windows or macOS, give them a try—you might be surprised to find that many of their features and functionality are carried over. These web versions are also easier to switch to while you're working on other things, so you spend less time unlocking your phone and switching between devices unnecessarily.
Visit WhatsApp Web in your browser and you will see a QR code. You can scan from your phone by clicking the three dots on the Chat tab (Android) or Settings tab (iOS), then clicking Linked devices and Linked devices . Your phone's camera will open and you can scan the QR code displayed in your browser.
When you have a ton of messages to process, you can't beat a keyboard for typing—in just a few minutes, I was able to complete all the one-on-one and group chats I'd been ignoring, and jumping between conversations was super easy. You can quickly select multiple chats to mute them, or mark them as read or unread, and there's a filtering feature to quickly view all unread conversations in one place.
You can load files, photos and videos from your computer, and you can also take photos and videos using your webcam, so WhatsApp Web is really helpful when you need to share something from your computer rather than your phone - for me when I tried It is most commonly used when you are organizing something and need to provide a large amount of documents to many people at the same time.
In fact, apart from sharing your location, there's nothing you can't do in the web version of WhatsApp compared to the mobile version. It's great for deleting messages in bulk or archiving chats, and there are tons of settings to play with, covering everything from notifications to access to group chats. Keyboard shortcuts are also supported so you can WhatsApp faster.
google messages
Direct your browser to Google Messages on the web, and if you're already signed in to Google, connecting is as easy as selecting the account you want to use and opening Google Messages on your phone to confirm the link. You can also connect using a QR code, which you scan by opening the Google Messages mobile app, tapping your avatar (top right corner), and selecting Device Pairing .
The Google Messages web app isn't as feature-rich as WhatsApp — you can't select multiple conversations at once, for example, and you can't filter messages — but you can still do a lot. Messages can be muted, deleted, and archived with just a few clicks, and starting a new chat (or group chat) is easy.
One of the best uses I've found for Google Messages on the web is organizing weekly sporting events, because I can copy and paste the same message to all the participating players without having to set up another group chat and no one really Need another group chat for those. RCS features, including personal message replies and emoji reactions, are also included.
You also get a nice set of settings here: you can switch to dark mode and high-contrast mode, as well as a range of options for notifications in the browser (including message previews) to alert you of new messages. Like WhatsApp, it supports a range of keyboard shortcuts to further speed up your texting.
The web version of Instagram debuted back in 2012, and in the years since, it's added nearly every feature of the mobile app. You can now do most things on Instagram from your desktop or laptop, except take photos and record videos. (What do you mean you don’t use your laptop webcam to take vacation snaps?)
You'll find your main information in the center of the screen (your mouse wheel will instantly get you up to speed), you can see your story at the top, and links on the left give you access to search, the explore page, reels, and your direct messages. You can also create a new post, assuming you already have the photo or video you want stored somewhere on your computer.
Scroll through stories works particularly well on the web because you can click forward and backward, or click to pause, or even skip past several stories to find friends you're actually interested in. You can reply to Stories and add emoji reactions, just like you do on your phone.
The web version of Instagram is also where you can view and manage your profile - there are tools to edit your profile, view your saved posts and tag your posts, and even change your account settings. If I need to do something on Instagram these days, I usually do it on the web, and you can use browser extensions for Instagram to further improve the experience.
Snapshot
Snapchat on the web isn't as comprehensive as Instagram, but you can still do a lot, including send snaps to your contacts via any webcam or other camera you might have connected to your computer. If you're like me and use Snapchat as an instant messaging tool, having a keyboard and mouse really helps.
What you can't do (at least not yet) is have the view snapshot sent directly to you. This makes the web interface lag behind the mobile app in terms of functionality, but perhaps that's intentional on Snapchat's part: You can see new Snaps come in, but you can't view them. However, you can view Stories, which are nestled next to the chat on the right side of the interface.
You can send photos and videos inline within a conversation, so if you want to share a file on your computer, you can do so through the web interface. You can also make video and audio calls on the web with your contacts on Snapchat, which again comes in handy if you use Snapchat as a communication hub rather than just sitting back and scrolling through content.
In terms of other features, you can respond to and initiate friend requests on the web; you can set up new group chats (and calls); you can configure browser notifications; you can choose between light and dark themes, All of this happens on a large screen, which makes it easier to use than a phone's much smaller display.
