WhatsApp introduced a desktop app for iOS and Windows that is “an extension of your phone: the app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device”.

The app runs natively on a user’s desktop, and will support native desktop notifications, as well as have better keyboard shortcuts, the messaging app maker said.

Once users download the app onto their desktop, they will need to scan a QR code using the app on their phone to sync the two.

A web version of the app was made available in January last year for Android users, and then extended to iOS users.

WhatsApp, which recently hit 1 billion monthly active users, introduced end-to-end encryption for all data sent via the instant messaging app last month, in a bid to bolster user privacy.