To be fair, the WeChat desktop client also requires that you scan a QR code from your smartphone to log in. I'm not defending WeChat, but it doesn't seem like the author knows WhatsApp is not alone there.
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author here. I didn't knew about WeChat since it is not popular here in Brazil.
Using a QR to facilitate login is not a bad decision. Having this as the only method to authenticate makes it a bad client because it can't work as a standalone offering.
I don't like when "web clients" are not full featured in the sense of allowing registration and login. Look at Evernotes, you can register and use thru the web client interface, there is no need for the app if you're on a platform that is not supported.
WeChat is extremely popular in China, which is why I bring it up. And as far as I am aware, QR is the ONLY way you can log in on desktop. Or I just haven't figured it out yet.
Hi, author, I like your article but those animated GIFs are driving me nuts. Please don't make readers also watch a movie at the same time. Thanks.
Seconded. Please stop writing articles that look like they're aimed at 14 year olds.
EDIT: If you feel the need to use cutesy graphics to get your point across, at least make them static. Animated gifs are incredibly distracting when trying to read anything more involved than a tweet, or a silly meme macro.
PM on the WeChat desktop client here! Lots of users say this, but has been pointed out, has security/architecture implications. Let me know if you have any other suggestions!
Exactly. This is outrageous. The only decent chat app these days is Telegram, really. Even they still want you to use your phone to log in (but only once). But I guess that's the way it is for now.
Frankly, I hope those apps will all be gone and forgotten in favor of an actual open sourced, widely used protocol. Or maybe they'd incorporate one. But in any case, I think it's a shame that when email is decentralized, chatting is not.
Telegram's protocol is open source.
If they do not allow me to run my own server, I'll pass.