How to Use WhatsApp on Your Apple Watch: Setup, Tips & More

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See & reply to WhatsApp messages on your Apple Watch

Written by Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: March 26, 2025 Fact Checked

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Is there WhatsApp for Apple Watch?

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Getting Notifications

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Read & Reply to Notifications

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Third-Party WhatsApp Apps

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FAQs

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Video

Are you trying to install WhatsApp on your Apple Watch and coming up blank? We can help! Although there's no official Apple Watch app for WhatsApp, the Apple Watch integrates nicely with the iPhone, allowing you to receive and reply to new message notifications from your wrist. In this article, we’ll teach you how to get notifications from WhatsApp on your Apple Watch and give you third-party app suggestions that you could use to support WhatsApp.

Quick Steps to Enable WhatsApp Alerts on the Apple Watch

Enable Bluetooth on your iPhone in Settings > Bluetooth.
Pair your Apple Watch to your iPhone via Bluetooth.
Go to Settings > Notifications > WhatsApp on your iPhone to enable notifications.
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and go to Notifications.
Under "Mirror iPhone Alerts From,” toggle on WhatsApp.

Section 1 of 5:

Is there a WhatsApp app for my Apple Watch?

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There's no official WhatsApp app available for Apple Watch. However, you can use certain WhatsApp features on the Apple Watch. Currently, the Apple Watch can receive WhatsApp notifications and even respond to new messages if you mirror the alerts from your iPhone.^{[1]
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- What you’ll need: To use WhatsApp on your Apple Watch, you’ll need WhatsApp version 2.12.9 or newer, iOS version 9.1 or newer, and WatchOS 2 or newer.
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The functionality of WhatsApp and the Apple Watch may change. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp and has said that it plans to integrate all the chats together, so efforts to make an official WhatsApp app for Apple Watch might be set aside.
- Since WhatsApp may be integrating with other social media networking platforms, any third-party apps that claim to make WhatsApp work on Apple Watch may also become useless.

Section 2 of 5:

How to Get WhatsApp Notifications on Apple Watch

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Connect your Apple Watch to your iPhone via Bluetooth. To enable Bluetooth on your iPhone, go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap the switch to toggle it on (it'll be green). From there, you should be able to complete the pairing process.^{[2]
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- Update your iPhone to the latest software version before pairing it with your Apple Watch.
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Allow WhatsApp notifications on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Notifications > WhatsApp and tap the switch next to "Allow Notifications" to toggle it on (it'll be green and pointing to the right).^{[3]
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- Tap to enable all three types of alerts: Lock Screen, Banners, and Notification Center.
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Set up WhatsApp notifications to mirror alerts from your iPhone. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, then go to Notifications and find the section header "Mirror iPhone Alerts From". Tap the switch next to WhatsApp to toggle this on.^{[4]
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- After you've done all this on your iPhone, WhatsApp notifications (such as new message alerts) will also appear on your Apple Watch.

Section 3 of 5:

Reading & Replying to WhatsApp Notifications on Apple Watch

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Tap the message notification to read it. You’ll see notifications on your Watch screen after you've set up notifications on your Apple Watch (using the instructions above).^{[5]
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- You can only access new messages this way, not older messages.
- Images and videos will look blurry, so you'll need to view them on your phone instead.
- You also can’t listen to voice messages this way; you’ll need to listen to them through WhatsApp on your phone.
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Tap Reply to respond to WhatsApp messages. You have a few different options for replying! You can tap Suggestions to use a preconstructed response like “Hello” or “What’s up?” although they may not be what you’re looking for. Alternatively, you can use the Apple Watch’s built-in keyboard or tap the microphone to dictate a reply.^{[6]
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- Write as carefully as possible if you write a message with your finger since your Apple Watch may have trouble understanding what you scribble!
- If you don’t want to reply, tap Dismiss instead; the message will disappear from your screen and be marked as “read” in WhatsApp. You won’t be able to see it on your Apple Watch anymore.

Section 4 of 5:

Are there third-party WhatsApp apps for Apple Watch?

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WatchChat 2 This highly-rated app brings a lot of the missing functionality from WhatsApp to Apple Watch. With the free version of WatchChat 2, you can see up to 3 of your latest chats; however, you can also pay for an app subscription to see more. To use it:^{[7]
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- Download WatchChat 2 on your Apple Watch.
- Once installed, open WatchChat 2—it should display a QR code.
- Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and tap on the Settings tab.
- Tap on the QR code icon next to your profile picture and scan the QR code with your phone.
- This will link WatchChat 2 with WhatsApp, allowing you to access most of the app’s features on your Apple Watch!
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Other third-party apps: Apps like WatchsApp, WatchTalk, or WatchApp+ will also let you use WhatsApp on your Apple Watch. However, they may charge a fee to use all the features, like WatchChat 2. You can download them from the App Store or run an App Store search on your own to find other third-party apps.
- Note that some features may become unavailable since third-party apps can't predict future changes to official apps.
- Also, these are all third-party apps; they’re not published by Meta (which owns WhatsApp), so be careful and always use your best judgment when asked to give information.

Section 5 of 5:

Frequently Asked Questions About WhatsApp

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Can you download WhatsApp on an Apple Watch? No, you can’t. There’s no WhatsApp app for the Apple Watch, so you have to download it on your iPhone instead.
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Why can’t you see WhatsApp in your installed Apple Watch apps? That’s because it’s not an app for your Apple Watch—so even when you have iPhone alerts mirrored, you shouldn’t be able to open the full WhatsApp app on your watch.
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Can you use WhatsApp on an iPad? Not officially—WhatsApp doesn’t have an iPad app, but you can use the WhatsApp web interface instead. Just go to the WhatsApp website; then, on your iPhone, open WhatsApp, select Settings, and scan the website’s QR code to log into WhatsApp Web.
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How can you use WhatsApp on a computer? You have a couple of options on the computer. You can use WhatsApp Web (like you would on an iPad) or download the desktop WhatsApp app and link it to your mobile app.