You can now use the service in other browsers too

Feb 26, 2015 11:06 GMT  ·  By

WhatsApp Web has just received an important update that makes the service available in Firefox and Opera, two of the most popular browsers on the market right now.

WhatsApp officially launched the web-based version last month, but support was previously limited to Google Chrome, so unless you were using this browser, there was no way to access it.

But starting today, the service also works in Firefox and Opera, WhatsApp announced in a short tweet, so more users should now be able to access it.

Just like in Chrome, users are required to scan a QR code with their phones to automatically log into their accounts and start chatting with friends from their browsers.

Still no Internet Explorer support

What's surprising is that while WhatsApp Web now works in Firefox, Chrome, and Opera, support for the default Windows browser Internet Explorer is still not offered.

According to third-party statistics provided by Net Applications, Internet Explorer is currently the number one browser on the market with a share of 58 percent, so it's a little surprising to see WhatsApp ignoring it as far as its web client is concerned.

Every time you attempt to access WhatsApp Web with Internet Explorer, the service recommends you to download Chrome, Firefox, or Opera to access it, so there's no workaround available right now to connect with the default Windows browser.

And yet, this isn't the only drawback of WhatsApp Web. In addition to the lack of Internet Explorer support, WhatsApp Web also doesn't work on iOS, which is currently one of the two leading mobile platforms. Together with Android, iOS holds around 90 percent of the mobile market, and yet, the web-based service of WhatsApp does not support it.

Right now, WhatsApp Web can only be accessed with Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone through the phone app that allows users to scan the QR code and thus connect to their accounts from the browser.