Allo is Google’s answer to WhatsApp, it is a messaging platform that brings together smart features like an AI assistant and search results from the internet. Despite having some unique traits compared to other chat apps such as shouting messages and Google Assistant built in, Allo has been struggling to get users. In fact its sister app called Google Duo -that specializes in video and audio conversation- has almost ten times more users, not to mention WhatsApp that is basically in every phone out there. The move to introduce a web portal to the platform is a smart move from Google and one that may gain it more followers.
The web version works the same way as that of WhatsApp; you open the portal and you will be presented with a QR code. The Allo phone app has a QR scanner under the option “Allo for web”. Once the phone and the computer browser portal have authenticated each other, you are in. You can carry on with your chats on the desktop web browser. The layout is similar in aesthetics but a bit different in arrangement to better accommodate the bigger real estate of a laptop browser. You have your contacts on the left and your current conversation on the right, emojis and the Google Assistant tabs can be pinned on the right side if so desired.
There are a couple of catches however; the first one is that the web version is currently only available to android phones. The second catch; only the chrome browser can access the web portal. Google promises to add Apple iOS support soon and other web browsers as well. Unfortunately, no timeline has been indicated.