WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the great things about WhatsApp is that you can access it not only on your phone, but also on the web version, known as WhatsApp Web.
WhatsApp Web provides you with many of the same features as the mobile app, allowing you to send and receive messages, make calls, and more, all from your computer’s browser. However, one feature that is missing on WhatsApp Web is the ability to customize your notification sounds.
Does WhatsApp Web have customizable notification sounds?
Unfortunately, as of now there is no way to change the notification sound on WhatsApp Web. The web version uses the default notification sound from your computer’s operating system. So if you are using WhatsApp Web on a Windows PC, you’ll hear the standard Windows notification sound.
This differs from the mobile app, where you can set custom notification tones for incoming messages, group notifications, and other alerts. But because WhatsApp Web relies on your computer’s own notification system, those custom sounds don’t carry over.
Why doesn’t WhatsApp Web have customizable notification sounds?
There are a few potential reasons why WhatsApp has not yet implemented customizable notification sounds for WhatsApp Web:
- Technical limitations – WhatsApp Web relies on your computer’s native notification system, which may make it more complex to enable custom sounds.
- Feature parity – WhatsApp Web does not have full feature parity with the mobile app, so custom sounds may not have been a priority.
- User demand – There may not be enough user requests and demand for this feature on WhatsApp Web.
- Focus on other features – WhatsApp’s development team may be focused on building other features for Web and mobile that are higher priority.
So in summary, while customizable notification tones would be a nice addition, it simply may not have been a top priority for WhatsApp when building out the WhatsApp Web experience.
Are there any workarounds to change the notification sound?
Unfortunately, there is no setting within WhatsApp Web itself to change the notification sound. However, there are a couple of workarounds you could try:
Change your computer’s default notification sound
Since WhatsApp Web uses your computer’s default notification sound, changing that default sound will also change WhatsApp Web’s tone. For example, on Windows you can go to Settings > System > Sound and modify your default notification sound there. Just keep in mind this will change the sound for all notifications coming from your computer.
Use a browser extension
There are browser extensions like Notification Sound Changer for Chrome that can override the default sound just for notifications coming from WhatsApp Web. This allows you to set a custom WhatsApp notification sound without affecting your overall computer sound settings.
Use a third party program
On Windows PCs, programs like Notification Sound Editor can be used to customize audio settings on a per-app basis. So you could use this to only change the notification sound for WhatsApp Web windows specifically.
While not as seamless as an in-app setting, these workarounds give you some options if you really want to customize the sound from WhatsApp Web.
When will WhatsApp Web add customizable notification sounds?
Unfortunately, WhatsApp has not given any indication of if or when customizable notification sounds will be added to WhatsApp Web. The feature has often been requested by users, but so far WhatsApp has not acknowledged the request.
Considering how popular and highly-used WhatsApp Web is, there is a decent chance WhatsApp will add this ability in a future update. But given the technical considerations and lack of priority, it could still be quite a while before custom notification tones make their way to WhatsApp Web.
For now, the workarounds mentioned above are your best bet if you want to change the notification sound when using WhatsApp Web. Hopefully in the future WhatsApp will provide native support for this customization!
Conclusion
To summarize:
- There is currently no way to change the default notification sound on WhatsApp Web
- This is likely due to technical limitations, lack of priority for the feature, and WhatsApp focusing on other updates
- The only workaround options are changing your computer’s default sound, using a browser extension, or using a third party program
- WhatsApp has not indicated if/when they will add customizable sounds to WhatsApp Web
- This is a commonly requested feature, so WhatsApp may add it eventually, but likely not anytime soon
So for now, WhatsApp Web users are stuck with the default notification tones. But hopefully in the future more customization options will arrive, bringing notification sound settings more in line with the mobile app experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get custom notification sounds on WhatsApp Web?
No, as of now there is no setting to change the notification sound on WhatsApp Web. It uses your computer’s default notification sound.
What about using browser extensions or 3rd party programs?
Browser extensions and programs like Notification Sound Changer (Chrome) or Notification Sound Editor (Windows) can override the default sound just for WhatsApp Web notifications. So these provide workarounds for custom tones.
Why can I customize notification sounds on mobile but not WhatsApp Web?
The mobile apps have full control over notification sounds, while WhatsApp Web relies on your computer’s sound settings. So the technical limitations make custom tones harder to implement on web.
Will WhatsApp ever add customizable notification sounds?
WhatsApp has not confirmed any plans, but given the popularity of this request, there is a good chance they will add it eventually. But it’s not clear when that might happen.
Can I mute all notifications from WhatsApp Web?
Yes, you can mute notifications from WhatsApp Web by going to your computer’s notification settings. For example, on Windows 10, go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions. From there you can mute all notifications for the WhatsApp Web app.
Changing Notification Sounds on Other Platforms
Customizing Notification Sounds on WhatsApp for iPhone
On iPhone devices, you can easily customize your WhatsApp notification sounds:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Sounds and vibrations
- Tap on Notification tone
- Select a preloaded tone or tap Add New to use your own custom sound
- You can also set custom tones for group notifications and message tones here
- Tap Save when finished to set your new WhatsApp notification sounds
Customizing Notification Sounds on WhatsApp for Android
The process is similar on Android devices:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Notifications
- Tap Notification tone
- Browse ringtones or select a sound file from your device storage
- Tap OK to set your custom WhatsApp notification sound
- You can also customize sounds for other alerts like group, call, and message tones
Customizing Notification Sounds on WhatsApp Desktop App
The WhatsApp Desktop app allows you to customize notification sounds:
- Open WhatsApp Desktop and go to Settings > Notifications
- Under Incoming Notification Sounds, click the tone drop-down
- Select a new tone from the available options
- Click OK to save your new notification sound
So the Desktop app provides the custom sound options that WhatsApp Web currently lacks. Hopefully WhatsApp makes these same settings available across all platforms soon!
Conclusion
In summary, changing the notification sound on WhatsApp Web is not currently possible without relying on workarounds. WhatsApp will hopefully add native customizable notification sound support to a future update of WhatsApp Web, bringing it in line with the abilities of the mobile and desktop apps. But for now, users must either live with the default sound or use third party tools to customize tones just for WhatsApp Web notifications.