How to use WhatsApp on your iPad

WhatsApp says it would like to make an iPad app, but for now we’ll have to show you a workaround.

It’s the same method we use to get WhatsApp working on our laptops, and a great way to avoid phone distraction while getting stuff done, without being accused of ignoring messages.

The method is WhatsApp Web, and you actually shouldn’t start off by searching “WhatsApp” on the iPad App Store.

While you will find some apps there if you do so, none are made by WhatsApp and under the surface they use the same official method we’re going to show you today.

It’s free, it’s stable, and supports almost all generations of iPad. Here’s what you need.

For this method we will use the tablet’s built-in Safari browser. WhatsApp needs version 11 or newer, which is available to iPads released in 2013 or newer. These include the iPad mini 2, the first iPad Air and iPad 5th Generation. If your tablet is not ancient, it should work as long as its software has been updated in the last 4-5 years.

You will of course need an internet connection, which is why WhatApp Web on a tablet is best used at home or in the office — anywhere with Wi-Fi. While there are iPads with mobile data, most people have Wi-Fi only tablets.

We’ll also need a phone with an active WhatsApp account. The iPad method piggy-backs off this phone account, in part because WhatsApp uses a phone number to setup your messaging profile.

All sorted? Let’s start.

Open the Safari app and type in web.whatsapp.com in the search bar. Simply searching for “WhatApp Web” online works too. The result we want pops up as the first result, in our experience.

This should load a webpage with a large QR barcode on your iPad’s screen.

For the next step we need the phone you use for WhatsApp normally, rather than your iPad. Load up WhatsApp on it.

Open the WhatsApp settings menu on your phone.

• iPhone users: tap the ‘Settings’ option in the bottom right corner
• Android users: tap the column of three dots in the top right corner

Then tap Linked Devices and on the next screen you should just see the ‘Link a device’ button. Tap that button.

A camera view will appear on your phone. Turn on your iPad screen if it has gone to sleep and hold the phone so its camera can “see” the QR graphic within the WhatsApp web screen on your iPad.

Once the QR is recognised, the classic view of your WhatsApp conversations should appear on your iPad. You can now chat away on your tablet just as you would on your phone.

So far we have got you a webpage showing your WhatsApp chats. If you close down Safari, you can simply navigate back to web.whatsapp.com in future. However, there is a better way.

Create a shortcut icon

• Open up the WhatsApp Web view in Safari on your iPad
• Tap the button that looks like a box with an upward-pointing arrow just right of the Search bar, at the top of the screen
• In the menu that pops-up, tap Add to Home Screen
• Next, choose a label to appear next to the shortcut, which you’re about to place on the iPad home screen. This places a WhatApp icon on the home screen that looks just like a dedicated WhatsApp app

Move the icon 

• If you want to move this icon, long press it until a menu pops up then tap Edit Home Screen.
• You can now drag the icon wherever you like, including the shortcut dock at the bottom of the display

Bookmark instead

• Don’t want a WhatsApp icon on your home screen? You can bookmark it instead. Go back to the WhatsApp Web view in Safari
• After pressing the upward arrow button by the search bar, tap Add to Favourites
• This adds a link to WhatsApp Web to a section you’ll find by tapping the menu icon in the top-left of Safari, then Bookmarks and Favourites

WhatsApp lets you link your account to four devices other than your phone. If you run out of these linked devices, or simply want to unlink your iPad, here’s how to do so:

On your phone 

• Open up WhatsApp on your phone
• On an Android, tap the three dot Settings menu icon at the top right. On an iPhone, tap the Settings gear-shaped button at the bottom-right of the main screen
• Select Linked Devices
• You should see a Device Status section that shows all the gadgets currently linked to your WhatsApp account. Your iPad’s entry should show up as “Safari (Mac OS)” or similar
• Tap that entry, and select Log Out in the pop-up to unlink your iPad

On your iPad 

• Tap the button in the left pane of WhatsApp Web that looks like a column of three dots
• Select Log out. This will take you back to the screen we saw right at the beginning of this tutorial, with a large QR code for pairing