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Comment by joshfraser | Hacker News Reader

What I really want is a desktop version of WhatsApp. I have a lot of conversations on there and typing on a piece of glass is just never as efficient as typing on a laptop. I haven't been able to find a desktop client that isn't blatantly laden with spam or viruses. I might take a stab at building one myself. I'd be curious if anyone has already reverse-engineered their backend API.

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This is the main reason me and my friends use Telegram. It has a web client.

There is already an instant chat solution with both desktop and mobile clients: Skype. Whatsapp is useless to me, and, I suspect, most people in the US. Out of ~1200 contacts in my phone, 11 are currently registered with Whatsapp. I suspect a desktop client would be useful in Europe, India, etc. but be prepared to spend some real money on internationalization.

I have a lot of international friends.

WhatsApp is not useless, it's pretty freaking huge.

One year ago WhatsApp had 400 million active users.

Skype has 663 million registered users, out of which 280 million are active monthly users.

I didn't say it was useless to everyone. I just said that it's pretty clear that it has a relatively small US footprint, and language fragmentation in Europe - where Whatsapp is pervasive and useful - is a significant issue. Thus writing a desktop client isn't as simple as it would appear to be at first glance.

my guess would be that every whatsapp account is associated with only one phone number, and you might have to introduce a separate layer of identification.

personally, i like having one reliable messenger on one device.

that's why I use Viber when I can - it has a desktop app as well as free calling - and whatsapp when I must.

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