WhatsApp lets you send messages, share files and make voice and video calls from your Mac. It’s made by Meta, based in the United States.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from whatsapp.com.
What it is
WhatsApp is used for private chats, family groups and voice and video calls. Its Mac app links to your WhatsApp account and can receive messages even when your phone is offline.
The app holds your synced chats and shared files on the Mac. It asks for microphone and camera access for calls. Screen sharing lets other people in a call see the screen or window you share.
This is WhatsApp's official Mac app, distributed through its website and the Mac App Store. Personal messages and calls use end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp still collects account, device, connection and usage information, and shares some information with other Meta companies.
Who makes it
Meta is a US technology company founded as Facebook in 2004 that owns WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. Its legal name is Meta Platforms, Inc.. Its website is meta.com.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
HARD hasn’t yet recorded the signature on a real copy of WhatsApp. Its Mac app shows who signed the copy you have.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is net.whatsapp.WhatsApp or desktop.WhatsApp. Download it only from whatsapp.com or the Mac App Store, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In May 2019, Doctor Web reported a fake WhatsApp download website serving Mac.BackDoor.Siggen.20 to Mac users. The malware could download and run code supplied by attackers.
Scammers ask people to install or open WhatsApp in these scams, so only use it with someone you contacted yourself: WhatsApp scams.
What it connects to
In normal use, WhatsApp talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
web.whatsapp.com | Mac app downloads and updates. |
mmg.whatsapp.net | Shared media downloads. |
pps.whatsapp.net | Profile pictures. |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Camera | To show your video during video calls. |
| Microphone | To send your voice during calls. |
| Screen & System Audio Recording | To share screen content during a video call. |
Security record
Problems with WhatsApp or Meta in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Researchers reported that WhatsApp allowed bulk checks identifying 3.5 billion accounts and some public profile details; Meta mitigated the weakness. | ↗ | |
| CVE-2025-55179 could make another person's Mac process media from an attacker-chosen web address; version 2.25.23.83 fixed it, with no exploitation reported by WhatsApp. | ↗ | |
| CVE-2025-55177 affected linked-device messages and may have been used with an Apple flaw in targeted attacks; Mac version 2.25.21.78 fixed the WhatsApp flaw. | ↗ | |
| Researchers found that modified clients could save View Once photos and videos; WhatsApp introduced a stronger fix by December 2024. | ↗ |
References
- WhatsApp: Download for Mac whatsapp.com
- WhatsApp Help Centre: About WhatsApp for desktops faq.whatsapp.com
- WhatsApp Privacy Policy whatsapp.com
- Meta: Company information meta.com
- SEC: Meta Platforms, Inc. company information edgarcompany.sec.gov
- WhatsApp Messenger: Official App Store listing and version history apps.apple.com
- Homebrew: WhatsApp Mac installation and update metadata raw.githubusercontent.com
- macfor: Current and older WhatsApp Mac bundle identifiers kb.macfor.io
- Apple: How to manually update apps from the App Store support.apple.com
- Apple: Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac support.apple.com
- Baileys: WhatsApp media download implementation github.com
- University of Vienna researchers: WhatsApp account enumeration study eprints.cs.univie.ac.at
- Doctor Web: Mac malware disguised as WhatsApp news.drweb.com
- University of Vienna: Researchers discover security vulnerability in WhatsApp univie.ac.at
- WhatsApp Security Advisories: 2025 whatsapp.com
- Meta CVE record: CVE-2025-55179 raw.githubusercontent.com
- Meta CVE record: CVE-2025-55177 raw.githubusercontent.com
- Tal Be'ery: WhatsApp's View Once fix medium.com