WhatsApp desktop app for Mac, and a separate place for work chat

WhatsApp has an official desktop app for Mac. It is free, it is available from WhatsApp's download page and the Mac App Store, and it needs macOS 12.1 or newer. It links to the WhatsApp account on your phone by scanning a QR code, and once linked it handles messages, voice and video calls, and screen sharing without the phone needing to be online. What it does not do is hold two accounts. WhatsApp's help center says multiple accounts are only supported on mobile devices, so a work number and a personal number cannot both live inside the Mac app. The usual answer is to run one account in the app and the other in WhatsApp Web, each in its own window. This guide covers the download, what linking commits you to, and how to set up that separation, using WhatsApp's own pages as checked on October 18, 2026.

Download and requirements

The WhatsApp download page lists the Mac app with the note "Get calling, screen sharing and faster experience with the Mac app. Requires macOS 12.1 or newer." The Mac App Store also carries it, listed as free with the seller shown as WhatsApp Inc.

To check your macOS version, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. macOS Monterey 12.1 or any later version qualifies. If the Mac is older than that, WhatsApp Web in a browser is the route that remains, and WhatsApp's page on supported browsers lists the minimum versions: Chrome 100, Edge 100, Firefox 115, Safari 15 and Opera 86. The same page notes that WhatsApp Web works on Windows, Linux and macOS, and that calling works best in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and Opera.

Setup takes a couple of minutes:

1. Install the app and open it. It shows a QR code.
2. On your phone, open WhatsApp and go to Linked devices, then Link a device.
3. Confirm your identity on the phone if asked, with biometrics or the phone's unlock code.
4. Point the phone at the QR code on the Mac.

WhatsApp's article on how to link a device describes the same flow and adds that a phone number can be used to link instead of a QR code. Chats then sync to the Mac. WhatsApp currently notes a known issue in which some linked devices do not show up to one year of chat history, with the full history still visible on the phone.

What linking a Mac commits you to

The Mac app is a linked device, not a separate account. That design has several consequences that are spelled out in WhatsApp's article About linked devices:

• Up to four linked devices. A phone can have up to four linked devices at a time. A Mac app, a browser session and an iPad count separately.
• The phone is still the anchor. You need the primary phone to register the account and to link new devices. Linked devices cannot be used as the primary device.
• A 14 day rule. Linked devices work while the phone is off, but they log out if the phone is not used for more than 14 days. The link device guide phrases it as needing to log in on the primary phone every 14 days.
• A 30 day rule. WhatsApp automatically disconnects linked devices after 30 days of inactivity.
• A few missing features. Viewing a live location, creating and viewing broadcast lists, and interacting with businesses through WhatsApp Flows are listed as not supported on linked devices.

On the positive side, each linked device connects independently with end-to-end encryption, and the Mac and Windows apps can make voice and video calls with up to 32 people. For daily office use, the main thing to remember is the 14 day rule. A work phone left in a drawer over a long holiday can log the Mac out.

To review what is linked, open Linked devices on the phone. Tapping a device and choosing log out removes it. Doing this once a month is a reasonable habit, especially on a shared or office Mac.

Why work and personal cannot share the Mac app

Many people searching for the Mac app actually want something more specific: a way to keep a work WhatsApp number separate from a personal one on the same computer.

WhatsApp does support two accounts, but only on a phone. Its article How to switch accounts on WhatsApp explains that the multiple account feature lets a single mobile device hold two accounts, that a second account needs its own phone number, and that secondary accounts can only be created from the primary mobile device. It also states plainly: "This feature is not available on linked devices. Multiple accounts are currently only supported on mobile devices." Account switching is also not available in the WhatsApp Business app.

So the Mac app holds one account at a time. Logging out and linking the other account each time is possible, but it means scanning a QR code over and over and waiting for chats to sync again. For someone who wants both accounts available all day, a better pattern is to give each account its own place on the Mac.

There is a second reason to separate them that has nothing to do with WhatsApp's rules. When work chat and family chat share one window, a glance at a work thread turns into reading the family group, and the reverse happens in the evening. A separate window with its own Dock icon and its own notification setting makes it possible to quit work chat at the end of the day without silencing everything else.

The setup that works: app for one account, web window for the other

The arrangement that fits within WhatsApp's own rules is simple:

• The Mac app linked to one number, usually the personal one.
• WhatsApp Web at web.whatsapp.com linked to the other number, in a browser window that does not share data with the app or with your main browsing.

Each one is a separate linked device on a separate phone or a separate account, so neither interferes with the other. There are three ways to give the web side its own window.

Safari: Add to Dock. On macOS Sonoma 14 or later, open web.whatsapp.com in Safari and choose File, then Add to Dock. Apple's page Use Safari web apps on Mac explains that the web app shares no browsing history, cookies or website data with Safari, opens from the Dock and Spotlight, can have its own name and icon, and can show an unread badge on its Dock icon when you accept notifications inside the web app. That badge is useful for a work account: it shows unread messages without opening the window.

Chrome: Install page as app. Open web.whatsapp.com in a Chrome profile reserved for work, then select More, Cast, save, and share, then Install page as app. The steps are on the Chrome Help page about web apps. The window uses that profile's data, so it stays apart from your personal Chrome profile.

Whichever of the first two is used, set notifications per window. Open System Settings, click Notifications in the sidebar, and choose the WhatsApp app or the web app by name from the list. Apple's page notes that a Safari web app appears there under the name you gave it, not under the website address. Giving the web app a clear name such as "WhatsApp Work" makes it easy to switch work alerts off at the end of the day while leaving the personal account untouched, and to turn them back on in the morning.

A dedicated browser profile. Without making an app, a second browser profile with WhatsApp Web pinned as a tab also keeps the accounts apart. It is the least tidy of the three, because the tab lives among other work tabs.

All three load WhatsApp Web itself, from web.whatsapp.com, inside Safari or Chrome. WhatsApp's help center lists WhatsApp Web among the supported ways to link. It separately warns that linking through unofficial apps or websites, meaning third party clients that are not WhatsApp's own, can put an account at risk and may lead to a temporary or permanent ban. Keep the web side on web.whatsapp.com in a mainstream browser.

Comparing the options

	Mac app	Safari web app	Chrome app window	Browser tab
Minimum system	macOS 12.1	macOS Sonoma 14	Chrome 100	Browser minimums above
Own Dock icon	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Separate from main browsing	Yes	Yes	Per Chrome profile	Per browser profile
Unread badge on Dock	Yes	Yes, with notifications allowed	Depends on site and settings	No
Calls and screen sharing	Yes	Check in WhatsApp Web	Check in WhatsApp Web	Check in WhatsApp Web
Can hold a second account	No	Yes, as its own linked device	Yes, as its own linked device	Yes, as its own linked device

Rows marked "check" are ones the WhatsApp pages reviewed for this guide did not state for each browser setup, so test them before relying on them for work calls.

When work chat is spread across several services

WhatsApp is rarely the only place work chat happens. A typical week might include a company chat tool, a client who prefers WhatsApp, a second client on a different messenger, and a support inbox that lives in the browser. Some of these have Mac apps. Others only exist as websites, and those are the ones that get buried behind other tabs.

The same idea used for the second WhatsApp account works for all of them: one window per service, each with its own Dock icon, each with its own notification setting, and each with its own login data. Doing that with Safari or Chrome is possible, but the setup is per browser and per profile, and with five or more services it becomes a small maintenance job of its own.

A site to app tool for macOS automates this. It creates a separate Mac app for each website, gives each app its own isolated browser profile, and uses a browser already installed on the Mac. One such tool, from the developer of this site, includes 300+ presets for common services so the URL, icon and name are filled in, runs on macOS 12 or later, and offers an optional Space mode that groups several services in one window with a sidebar. It is free for up to 3 apps, and unlimited apps cost $24.99 as a one-time purchase. The features page explains profile isolation and notifications, and the supported services page shows which chat tools are preset.

What to change first

Install the WhatsApp Mac app from WhatsApp's download page and link the account you use most. Then put the second account in its own window, a Safari web app or a Chrome app window for web.whatsapp.com, and set its notifications separately in System Settings. If several other work chat services also need windows of their own, Kagemusha is one way to set them up on a Mac in one place.