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Struggling with Sluggish WhatsApp on Windows 11? Discover the Easy Solution for Fast Messaging!
WhatsApp for Windows 11 now uses a Chromium-based WebView2 wrapper instead of the previous native UWP app, leading to much higher RAM usage and sluggish performance. This update means that everyday tasks and even idle usage now result in the app consuming up to 1.2GB of RAM—even more during active conversations or video calls—with noticeable delays in chat switching and system responsiveness.
Key Issues After the Update
- The switch to a web wrapper means WhatsApp runs multiple browser-related processes, causing 30–300% more RAM and CPU usage compared to the older UWP app.
- Even when idle, RAM use starts at around 300MB and can jump to 1GB or more during normal use, with heavy chat activity possibly reaching up to 3GB.
- CPU usage stays high, often between 10–35% during messaging or calls, compared to under 5% with UWP.
- Video calls now require about 900MB of RAM, three times that needed before.
- Sluggish performance and delayed notification delivery have become common, with animations and chat opening suffering from lag.
- Splitscreen optimization is worse; resizing the window to show a single chat no longer works well.
- The app continues running background tasks after closing, still using RAM to keep notifications active; you can disable this by turning off “Minimise to system tray” and “Start WhatsApp at login” in Settings.
Reasons for the Change
Meta moved to a WebView2 model to reduce development costs by using one codebase for web and desktop, and layoffs have affected platform-specific Windows app development.
Web-based architecture is easier for Meta to maintain but sacrifices speed, efficiency, and integration features that the UWP app provided.
Technical Differences Table
| Feature | Native UWP WhatsApp | Chromium WebView2 WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| Memory Usage | 100–300 MB (idle/load) | 300 MB–3 GB (idle/load) |
| CPU Usage | <5% (typical) | 10–35% (typical) |
| Video Calls RAM | ~316 MB | ~900 MB |
| Startup Time | Instant | Noticeably slower |
| Notifications | Integrated/Reliable | Web-style/Can lag |
| Background Tasks | Minimal (idle exit) | High; stays resident |
Action Steps
- Disable tray and startup functions in Settings if RAM and notifications are problematic.
- Consider switching to WhatsApp Web in a browser for better resource efficiency.
- Upgrading your PC may help, but efficient chat apps run well on older hardware; the native UWP WhatsApp did just that.
Current performance issues with WhatsApp for Windows can feel frustrating, but direct tweaks help manage resources while Meta’s cost-cutting shift explains the downgrade.