Use WhatsApp via Pidgin: You have to consider that

In this practical tip, we will tell you whether you can also use WhatsApp via Pidgin and what you need to consider.

Use WhatsApp via Pidgin - unfortunately currently not possible

Pidgin is a universal chat client that supports numerous networks ex works. Unfortunately WhatsApp is not one of them. However, the support of other services can be retrofitted with plug-ins.
The plug-in "whatsapp-purple" was released in 2014 for the use of WhatsApp via Pidgin.
The biggest problem when setting up the plug-in was to find out the required WhatsApp password, since users of WhatsApp normally only log in with their cell phone number. It was therefore necessary to read the password from the network traffic, for example using the Wireshark software.
After the plug-in was released, cases became known in which the telephone numbers of users of this unofficial solution were blocked on WhatsApp. Since Facebook generally acts against unofficial WhatsApp clients and plug-ins, the use of such solutions is not recommended.
In the meantime the development of "whatsapp-purple" was stopped. Interested parties can still download the source code from GitHub.

As an alternative, the official desktop app is ideal if you want to use WhatsApp directly on your PC. A version for macOS is also available.
You can also use WhatsApp as a web app directly in the browser.
For Firefox, Chrome and Opera, extensions for using WhatsApp are available in the browser.
Finally, you can also install and use WhatsApp in an Android emulator such as BlueStacks.

In our next practical tip, we will present three alternatives to WhatsApp in more detail.