WhatsApp on Windowsโ 11 Sees Meaningfulโค RAM Increase with New Update
WhatsApp usersโ on Windows 11 areโค experiencing a significant increase in RAM usage following a recent update to theโข application. Beginning in early November, WhatsApp began notifying users of a major update available through the Microsoft Store, nowโฃ only offering aโ “Beta” version of the app. This update fundamentally changes how WhatsApp functions on Windows,shifting from a native Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app to โa web application runningโข on WebView2 technology.
This transition appears to have immediate and negative consequences for performance, particularly regarding system resource consumption. According to a report by Windows latest on November 12,โ 2025, the new โขWebView2-based version utilizes significantlyโข more RAM than its predecessor.the older UWP version required approximately 10 MB for the login screen and peakedโ atโ 100-300 MB during active use, depending onโค message load.
In contrast, the new version demands roughly 300 MB of RAM just to display the login screen. โฃOnce loaded,โฃ the โฃapplication โconsistently consumes over 1 GB of RAM, with Windows Latest observing peaks of 2โ GB and even 3 GB during activeโ messaging.
beyond the increased RAM usage, usersโ are also reporting longerโ loading times and compatibility issues with Windows 11 notifications.
currently, Meta is allowing both versions of WhatsAppโฃ to run concurrently.โ Though, users will eventually be automatically logged out and requiredโฃ to โre-authenticate via their phone, โpotentially โขbeing transitioned to the new WebView2 app โwith up to oneโค year of chat history. If these performance issues are not addressed, the benefits ofโ using the โWindows app over the โweb version may be minimal.
