Instead of running as a native Windows app, it now loads the web version of WhatsApp (web.whatsapp.com) using Microsoft’s WebView2 technology.

The company has confirmed that WinUI 3 and the Windows App SDK is on the path to become open-source, but that there's lots of work to be done first before that can happen.

WhatsApp has reportedly replaced its native Windows app with a web-based version in the latest beta update. This means users will now see a user interface similar to WhatsApp Web, requiring ...

This native approach gave the app a performance edge over the web-based version. Now, Meta is returning to WebView2, the Edge framework that wraps apps around the Windows native browser component.