Mobile apps are great when you ’re away from your desk , but there are times when you might just want a full keyboard , gigantic screen , and easy chair while you fiddle with your apps . If that ’s the lawsuit , you might be surprised to learn that many of your favorite apps can run on a laptop or screen background with very small stir . Here ’s how you could get started .

Facebook Messenger

Facebook launchedMessenger for the webmore than a yr ago , but there are still plenty of multitude that are totally oblivious to its existence . If you ’re the type of person that is incessantly typewrite out responses to subject matter from your friends all day , we strongly recommend you start doing it using a full - sized keyboard .

There areplenty of other reasonsto favor the web app , too . For good example , you do n’t have the News Feed unhinge you , and you get entree to a shared photo swarm for each conversation , as well as surplus customization options not usable on the master website .

For those of you on Windows 10 , there’san prescribed Messenger universal proposition appyou can use as well . Obviously , it integrates neatly into the Windows notification system , and you get passably much all the lineament you ’ll get hold on your phone ( including support for inline GIFs ) .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

aside from the official , Facebook - sanction options there are also a short ton of third - party alternatives you may use , too . Most of them just provide app wrappers around the World Wide Web interface . For instance , you may tryMessenger for MacorMessenger for Desktopfor typing response on your laptop computer .

Instagram

For a retentive prison term , Instagram was strictly a Mobile River - only app . Then in 2012 , it launched some very basic World Wide Web profiles . Whilethe official Instagram online appis still relatively sparse and fix in functionality , it ’s add some polish and new features since it first appear .

There are a cluster of apps out there that let you station to your Instagram feed from a computer ( or at least claim to ) , butFlumefor Mac is just about the only one we ’ve tried that seems reliable and nonrational ( and it looks gorgeous as well , which always helps ) .

WhatsApp

WhatsApp has official support for desktops and laptop computer throughits web app , though your phone need to have WhatsApp up and running for it to work successfully . you could edit your visibility and status , get desktop notifications , send files and emojis and more .

Toget started , launch WhatsApp on your speech sound . On Android , tap the bill of fare clit ( three dots ) , then WhatsApp Web ; on iOS , the same option is useable on the preferences page inside WhatsApp . In both case you call for to rake a QR code on the web to get relate .

As with Facebook Messenger , it ’s a good deal easier to power through your messaging duties with a full - sized keyboard in front of you . You obviously do n’t have to keep fishing your phone out of your air hole , either . conversation can be easily file away or muted if needed .

William Duplessie

Earlier this yearWhatsApp added a on-key desktop app to the premix , available for Mac or Windows , giving you another option . It ’s somewhat much superposable to the WWW version , and is set up in the same room , but integrates more neatly with the rest of your desktop OS .

Other apps and other options

We do n’t have space to cover every wandering app out there , and some of them just do n’t have background or entanglement tool useable . Snapchat , for case , is still very much a mobile scoop , which means your only option is to ladder some kind of emulator tool for it .

TheBluestacksAndroid emulator is one of the most popular ways of getting apps up and running on a Windows or Mac PC , and it hasinstructions for Snapchat . A potpourri of other apps can be quickly set up too , include Instagram and Line , with just a few clicks .

Bluestacks sets up a new practical Android phone and one potential problem is that Snapchat accounts can only be used on one gimmick at a time . You might not mind have to switch from PC to phone , but it ’s something to bear in mind if you ’re lead to try it .

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Meanwhile , some third - party desktop broadcast handle several mobile apps at once . TakeFranz(for Windows , Mac and Linux ) , which can tie into Facebook Messenger , WhatsApp and Telegram . It ’s another selection for getting at your mobile apps through the background .

desktopFacebook MessengerInstagramSnapchatWhatsApp

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