How to use Whatsapp on a Chromebook
Ever wanted to run Whatsapp right on your Chromebook? As it turns out, there are many ways to get Whatsapp working on Linux. In this guide, we’ll show you how to get Whatsapp up and running on your Chromebook.
Whatsapp – Android app method
Perhaps the easiest way to get started with Whatsapp on your Chromebook is via the Android app from the Google Play Store. To start, open up the Play Store app on your Chromebook. Once it is open, click on the search box, and type in “Whatsapp.”
Let Google Play download the WhatsApp app to your Chromebook. Once the app is done downloading, search for “Whatsapp” in the app menu for Chrome OS, and select it to open. When the app is open, you should be greeted with the Whatsapp login screen.
At this point, log into your Whatsapp account. However, understand that you can only have one instance of Whatsapp at a time. This means if you regularly use Whatsapp on your Smartphone, you’ll find yourself constantly logging in and out, and losing access to chats.
For best results, only go the Android app route if you mainly use your Chromebook and do not have a smartphone that you regularly use. Otherwise, consider going the Linux app route, as this method involves linking your mobile Whatsapp to the Linux app and gives you access to both.
Whatsapp – Linux app method
If the Linux app method is more your style, here’s what to do to get it working on your Chrome OS system. To start, you’ll need to enable Linux on your Chromebook. To do this, start by clicking on the clock icon in the Chrome OS dash. After selecting it, click on the gear icon to load up the settings area.
Look for the “Advanced” section in the Chrome OS settings area, and click on it with the mouse. After you’ve selected the “Advanced” section, look for “Developers” and click on it with the mouse. Then, browse for “Linux developer environment,” and access it.
In the “Linux developer environment” area, click on the “Turn on” button. Selecting this button will download and set up the Chrome OS Linux environment. It’ll also download a terminal app to interact with it, and launch it.
Inside the terminal app, use the apt update command. Running this command will update the software channels on the Debian container that handles Linux apps on your Chromebook.
sudo apt update
After you’ve run the apt update command, you’ll need to run the apt upgrade command. This command will install available software upgrades in the Debian Linux container on your Chromebook.
sudo apt upgrade
With the container up to date, you’ll be ready to run Linux apps on your Chromebook, including Whatsapp!
How to install Whatsie on Linux
launch the Chrome OS terminal app. You can do this by searching for “Terminal” in the app menu and selecting it with the mouse. Once the terminal app is open, select the “Penguin” option to gain terminal access to the Linux container on your Chromebook.
In the terminal, use the apt install command to install the “flatpak” package. This package handles Flatpak apps on your system, including Whatsie, the unofficial Whatsapp desktop app for Linux systems.
sudo apt install flatpak
With the “flatpak” package installed on your system, you need to set up the Flathub app store, as this store will allow you to install the Whatsie app on your system. To set up the Flathub app store on your Chromebook, enter the following command below in a terminal window.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
With the Flathub app store enabled on your system, you can quickly set up the Whatsie app with the following installation command.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Now that Whatsie is installed, launch it from the “Linux apps” folder on your system. When the Whatsie app opens, you’ll see a message appear on your Chromebook in the Whatsie window. In this window, the message says “Use WhatsApp on your computer.”
Open up the Whatsapp app on your smartphone. Once it is open, tap the settings menu, and navigate to “Linked Devices.” Once in the “Linked Devices” area, talk on the “Link a device” option. You’ll then need to point your phone at the Whatsapp QR code on the screen and scan it to log in.
When you’ve scanned the Whatsapp QR code on your Chromebook, you’ll be able to log your account into Whatsie and enjoy using the Whatsapp app on your Chrome OS device.
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