WhatsApp is a popular messaging app used by billions of users daily. Most people use WhatsApp on their mobile phones, but you can also install and run WhatsApp on a Windows PC. This allows you to access all your messages, send new messages to anyone in your contacts list, and receive instant notifications of new messages directly on your computer.
In this quick and straightforward tutorial, I will show you how to download, install, run, and set up WhatsApp on your Windows 11 & Windows 10 computers. Let’s get started.
Before You Begin
- To use WhatsApp on your Windows PC, you need to link it with WhatsApp on your mobile phone. So, keep your mobile phone ready.
- For this tutorial, I’m showing how to do it on Android, but the steps are similar for iPhone.
- The steps below are tested to work on Windows 11 & Windows 10.
Steps to Download, Install, & Access WhatsApp Desktop on Windows
- Right-click the Start button.
- Select the “Terminal” option.
- Run the following command to download & install WhatsApp.
winget install whatsapp
- Type “Yes” and press “Enter” when prompted.
- Press the “Start” button.
- Search and open “WhatsApp“.
- Click the “Get started” button.
- On your mobile phone, open WhatsApp.
- Click the “three dots” icon on the top-right corner.
- Select the “Linked devices” option.
- Tap the “Link a device” button.
- Scan the QR code displayed on your PC.
- With that, you’ve connected WhatsApp to your Windows PC.
- From now on, you can use WhatsApp on Windows.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, we must install WhatsApp on Windows. To do that, we will use the built-in winget package manager. Start by right-clicking on the Windows key on your taskbar and selecting the “Terminal” option. Windows 10 users can select “Windows PowerShell”.

Next, type the following command and press “Enter“.
winget install whatsapp
When prompted, type “Yes” and press “Enter“.

With that, you’ve installed WhatsApp on your Windows PC.
Note: If you prefer GUI, you can also install WhatsApp from Microsoft Store.

Once WhatsApp has been installed, open the Start menu, search for “WhatsApp“, and click “Open“. This action opens the WhatsApp on your desktop.
Click the “Get started” button once the app opens. As soon as you do that, you will see a QR code. Keep the app open and proceed with the next steps.

Now, open WhatsApp on your mobile phone, click the “three dots” icon in the top right corner, and then select the “Linked devices” option.
Note: If you are on an iPhone, click the “Settings” > “Linked devices” option.

Click the “Link a device” button to continue.

Scan the QR code displayed on your PC with your phone.
That is it. With that, you’ve set up WhatsApp on your desktop. You will see the linked device in the “Device Status” link on your phone. For instance, in my case, I have three linked devices.

On your desktop, give a few minutes and all your contacts and messages will be synced.

Once done, you can send and receive from WhatsApp on your desktop.

Remove a Linked Device on WhatsApp
If you no longer want to use WhatsApp on your Windows PC, here’s what you need to do.
First, uninstall WhatsApp on your PC. To do that, search for “WhatsApp” in the Start menu, right-click on it, and select the “Uninstall” button.
Next, open WhatsApp on your phone, click the “three dots” menu, and select the “Linked devices” option.
Now, tap on the linked device you want to remove and then tap the “Log out” option.

As soon as you do that, the linked device is removed. From now on, that specific device will not be able to access your WhatsApp content.

Wrapping Up — Using WhatsApp on Windows
With the official WhatsApp desktop app, you can seamlessly link your phone and PC to access messages, send & receive chats, and get notifications directly on your computer.
However, keep in mind that anyone with access to your Windows user account can open WhatsApp on your desktop. To protect your privacy, avoid linking WhatsApp on shared or public computers. Also, don’t forget to unlink devices when you no longer need them.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to help.