Zapchat

A quieter WhatsApp client, by TAG.

Zapchat connects to the WhatsApp account you already have, the same way WhatsApp Web does — by linking as a companion device. Your account stays on your own phone. Zapchat is simply a different way to read and answer it.

Zapchat's sign-in screen, asking for a phone number
Link in about a minute
A list of chats with filters across the top
Your chats, filters and all
A conversation with a sticker, a photo and a voice note
Photos, stickers, voice notes
A contact screen with video, voice, mute and search
Call, mute, search a chat

Getting started

  1. Open Zapchat and enter the phone number of the WhatsApp account you want to use. You will get an eight-character code.
  2. On the phone that holds that account, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device → Link with phone number instead.
  3. Type the code. That is all — Zapchat becomes one of your linked devices.

The code expires in a few minutes. If it runs out, ask for another one.

What it is

What it does

Messages, photos, videos, voice notes, documents, stickers, locations and contact cards. Group chats. Voice and video calls. Your archived and muted chats stay archived and muted.

What it leaves out

No Status. No Channels. No Communities. No AI assistant. These are not hidden behind a setting — they are not built, so nothing can turn them back on.

Questions

Do I still need WhatsApp on my phone?

Yes. Zapchat links to your existing account as a companion device, the way WhatsApp Web does. Your account lives on your phone; Zapchat is another way in.

Can I use both at once?

Yes. A linked device works alongside your phone — messages, reads and calls stay in step across both.

Why can't I see my older chats?

WhatsApp decides how much history it sends to a newly linked device — usually recent conversations rather than your full archive. This is true of every companion client, including WhatsApp Web. Messages sent from now on will always arrive.

What happens to my messages if I unlink?

Unlinking deletes Zapchat's local message history on that device. Your WhatsApp account and your phone keep everything.

To unlink: on your phone, WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → tap Zapchat → Log Out.

What happens to my data?

Zapchat links to your account as a companion device, and to do that your messages pass through a relay server operated by TAG. Message content is decrypted on that server — this is unavoidable for any companion client that is not WhatsApp's own. It is never used for advertising, profiling, or training anything.

How long anything is kept, what the notifications carry, and what we do not do are all set out in the privacy policy, which is written to be accurate rather than reassuring.

Does it work on iPad?

Yes. Zapchat runs on iPhone and iPad.

Is this made by WhatsApp?

No. Zapchat is an independent client and is not made by, endorsed by, or affiliated with WhatsApp LLC or Meta. Please do not ask WhatsApp for help with it — ask us.

Something is broken. What do I do?

In Zapchat, open Settings → Report a Problem and tell us what happened. That reaches us with your app and iOS version and a recent diagnostic log attached, so we can usually see the problem without asking you to reproduce it. It carries no messages and no contacts.

Or email support@tag.org.

Zapchat is built on Signal-iOS and is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Source code.