WhatsApp, also known as ‘Whatsapp,’ ‘Wuasap,’ or ‘Whasap,’ among other meanings, is the most used instant messaging application globally. It has become one of those apps that we all use daily, and precisely for this reason, it is important to know where to download it from and how to update it. This article will teach you how to download WhatsApp in 2021 and install it for free on your smartphone, PC, and tablet, how to download its file official APK and how to update WhatsApp to the latest version 2021.
First of all, you should know that there are two types of WhatsApp for Android to download: the one you can find on Google Play, the stable and ready-to-use version, and the beta version, which has the latest functions although it may contain some other errors.
If you are only interested in the app store version, you can download it right now:
But if you want to know more, keep reading!
How to download WhatsApp for free on Android in 2021
Download WhatsApp from the Play Store
If you want to install WhatsApp on your smartphone, the easiest way is to use the Android app store. In addition, thanks to Google Play, the application will automatically update your Android with new functions and security patches.
To download WhatsApp from the Play Store, you have to access the link below, press “Install,” and that’s it; it will automatically be downloaded to your Android mobile, and you can start using it. That easy!
Install WhatsApp without Play Store from the official website
If you want to install WhatsApp without the Play Store, you can download the installable APK file from WhatsApp’s own official website.
To do this, first of all, you will have to enable unknown sources on your Android. Just go to Settings> Security> Enable Unknown Sources so that you can install the WhatsApp APK file. And don’t worry, because it is the official version, so it is free of viruses and malware.
To download WhatsApp in APK, go to the official website and click on the green button. You will see how a file called is downloaded WhatsApp.apk, which is the one that you must install on your Android. Just click on it and accept the installation.
Instalar WhatsApp beta gratis
How to use the beta version of WhatsApp
As we told you before, WhatsApp has a beta version in which they test all the new functions before launching them to the stable application on Google Play. Accessing this version is as easy as becoming a beta tester and downloading the beta from the Android app store.
How to become a WhatsApp beta tester
To test the beta, you just have to access Google Play. Keep in mind that this implies exposing yourself to different bugs and bugs that may not be in the official version, but you have to try the new functions before anyone else! Click on the big button, and voila, you will have become a tester of the WhatsApp trial version.
Once you are a beta tester, wait for a couple of minutes and download –or update– WhatsApp from Google Play. The new version will be the beta version and will have all the news whose releases we will always tell you about in Andro4all.
The beta versions are only available for mobile, so you will not use them in WhatsApp for computers.
How to download WhatsApp for PC
If you want to use WhatsApp on your computer, you don’t need to download anything. All you have to do is use WhatsApp Web, which allows you to use the messaging service through web browsers. These are the steps to follow:
- Go to https://web.whatsapp.com/.
- Open the WhatsApp app on your mobile.
- In the chats tab, click on the three-point menu, and then on WhatsApp Web.
- Confirm to activate the camera, and scan the QR code on the page you opened at the beginning.
- After a few seconds, you will see all your chats in the browser, and you can use them.
To use WhatsApp from the PC, you will have to keep your mobile on and with coverage at all times. Otherwise, it will stop working.
How to download WhatsApp for tablet
WhatsApp Messenger can also be used on tablets, and in this case, we can combine both ways. That is, we can both use it through WhatsApp Web and install the application in the device’s memory. We explain how to do it step by step in another article:
How to reinstall WhatsApp?
If you have changed your mobile, you will probably want to reinstall WhatsApp on your new device.
Although the steps detailed above are used to install the app on the new device, before doing so, it is necessary to uninstall WhatsApp from the old mobile so that our account will no longer be associated with our previous phone.
To uninstall WhatsApp, you have to go to the settings application of your mobile, access the “Applications and notifications” section, and in “Installed applications,” look for WhatsApp. Once inside, tap on the uninstall button.
Finally, you will only have to download and install WhatsApp on the new device and log in to your account.
Summary: How to download and install WhatsApp
- Go to the official website and download the APK file. Or, if you prefer, download it from Google Play.
- Press the install button on Google Play, or if you have downloaded the APK, search for the file and install it.
- Verify your phone number.
- If you have a backup saved, it will ask you whether or not you want to recover it. Select what you want.
- Enter a profile name (you can change it later in the application settings.
Thus, you will already have WhatsApp on your mobile. Now you can start chatting and, if you wish, add a profile picture and a status. Remember that you can also use the service on a computer and tablet.
Extra: How to update WhatsApp on Android
If you already have it installed on your smartphone, you must have it updated to the latest version to prevent possible failures, bugs, and errors. Although we already did a complete article to update WhatsApp, we will summarize the process again.
You have to go to Google Play> My applications and games and check if there are any updates to the app. If so, click on it and then on “Update.” The new version will be automatically downloaded to your mobile and installed.
If you prefer to use the APK file, visit WhatsApp’s official website and download the installable file. The process is the same, with the difference that this one is a bit more tedious, but it works anyway!
Now you know how to download and install WhatsApp for free, how to access its beta version, and how to update the application to its latest version. If you don’t use WhatsApp, it’s because you don’t want to!
Extra 2: These have been the main WhatsApp news in recent months
WhatsApp is one of the most used applications on the planet, and to always stay up-to-date, the company in charge of its development does not stop for a moment to introduce new changes and news through updates. These have been the most important WhatsApp updates in recent months:
Stickers
After a long time of waiting, WhatsApp officially introduced the stickers. Like many other messaging and social media applications, WhatsApp stickers allow users to send images on different topics categorized in packs as if they were larger emojis.
In addition, those users who want to create their own stickers for WhatsApp can also do it easily.
Videos in floating windows
Another of the great novelties that have come to WhatsApp is the possibility of playing videos in a small floating window. This is a feature that other messaging apps like Telegram already included for a long time, but WhatsApp had not yet been adopted. However, the latest versions of the app already allow you to click on a video link to play it in mode Picture in Picture and continue using the app in the meantime.
Support for Android Pie notifications
After the arrival of Android 9 Pie, several applications were updated to support the new type of notifications in this version of Android, which allows images and multimedia content to be directly displayed in them and a button to reply to messages. Luckily for WhatsApp users, the update to support this Android feature was not long in coming, and in fact, it was one of the first messaging apps to incorporate this novelty.
Suspicious link detection
In their goal of fighting against malware and threats that spread among the millions of WhatsApp conversations worldwide, the creators of the most popular messaging app introduced a useful novelty that detects those links that could be suspicious and alert users to prevent access to them.
Group calls
WhatsApp video calls are nothing new. On the other hand, they are group calls, which arrived on WhatsApp in July 2018, allowing users to carry out video conferences or voice calls with up to four contacts.
Telegram-style channels
Although WhatsApp for Android still has a long way to go to resemble Telegram, in 2018, we witnessed the arrival of a novelty that brought the application a little closer to its open-source alternative and whose logo is a paper plane: the channels. In reality, these WhatsApp channels are groups where only administrators can send messages, which can be useful to spread information among a group of people.
WhatsApp security: how to protect your chats
One of the main concerns of WhatsApp users is security. The application includes certain security and privacy settings, which are used to control better what we want to show and what not to show to other users. For example, we can decide to hide our last connection time, our status, our profile picture, etc. In addition, we also have options to make backup copies of our chats.
We recommend our WhatsApp security guide to keep your data fully protected.
WhatsApp Plus and other alternatives to WhatsApp that you can download: are they worth it?
Practically from the day WhatsApp was born, have emerged alternatives to the original application that can be downloaded. Sometimes include functions that we cannot find in the WhatsApp app.
One of the most famous was WhatsApp Plus, whose history we examined further back in the day. However, WhatsApp decided to block users who used this type of alternative apps, so it no longer makes sense to download WhatsApp Plus online.
But it is still possible to download alternative WhatsApp apps. One of the most famous is YoWhatsApp, which among other things, allows you to install and change the theme of the application, change the last connection time manually or block calls.
However, it must be borne in mind that when using this type of app, we risk that WhatsApp could block our account, either temporarily or permanently. Another aspect to consider is that as they are unofficial versions of the application, they could endanger our device through malware or other malicious software if downloaded from an unofficial source.
Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
