Last week Matías told us about the launch of WhatsApp Web, an official alternative for viewing WhatsApp conversations on the desktop. Unfortunately, the service has several restrictions, starting with its exclusive compatibility with Chrome and the absence of notifications when we close the browser. The new WAToolkit extension covers that gap with a certain elegance, and gives us an idea of what WhatsApp Web could become in the coming months.
Many celebrated the official arrival of WhatsApp on the computer, but the celebrations didn't last long once we examined its limits more closely. First of all, WhatsApp Web is compatible only with Google Chrome, a detail that at this point in the game is almost insulting. Not even Chromium can open WhatsApp Web, so that should be the top priority for its creators. Then there's the fact that WhatsApp Web is nothing more than a glorified mirror. Its dependence on the smartphone is absolute (when many expected a Twitter-style web access), and this also includes keeping it connected to the internet, whether via WiFi or using the conventional data plan. Finally, its notification system requires Chrome to remain open, as well as the tab with WhatsApp Web loaded.
The new WAToolkit extension seeks to correct this last point. Once we install the extension and link WhatsApp Web with our smartphone, the notification icon will take on a green color and each new message will be announced there, but that's not all. WAToolkit takes advantage of both Chrome's background operation and its global desktop notifications. In this way, the user can close the main window of Chrome and keep receiving notifications in the system tray as if it were an independent application.
So far, the WAToolkit extension has been very well received, but something tells me its function will be integrated into WhatsApp Web sooner or later. While we wait for Facebook and company to speed up their development, WAToolkit is shaping up to be a good companion for all those who need to keep a close eye on their WhatsApp conversations. The other possibility, and the most worrying one to be honest, is that WhatsApp decides to ban the interaction of WhatsApp Web with extensions. WhatsApp Plus users are already getting flak for accessing the service with an unofficial application, so the fear that they'll decide to attack WAToolkit is there. I hope I'm wrong.
