WhatsApp notifications on a Mac with an Android phone: two routes, and how not to get both

There are two ways to get WhatsApp notifications on a Mac when your phone is Android. The first is WhatsApp's own: install WhatsApp for Mac or open WhatsApp Web, link it to the phone, and the Mac gets its own notifications, with replies a click away. The second is to mirror the phone's notifications to the Mac with an app such as KDE Connect or The Relay, which also covers every other chat app you have. Run both and each message arrives twice, so pick one per app, or silence one side.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

Which route should I use?

The short version: if WhatsApp is the only chat app you care about, use WhatsApp's own. If your day is spread across several apps, mirror. If you already mirror and also want to reply in WhatsApp on the Mac, run both and read the section on duplicates.

Route 1: WhatsApp's own notifications on the Mac

WhatsApp's download page offers desktop apps and says "Don't see your device supported? Use WhatsApp on your browser." The Mac App Store listing lists Mac among its platforms and says it requires macOS 12.1 or later. Linking is done by scanning a QR code from the phone, and the steps, with the caveat that WhatsApp's help pages would not open for us, are in WhatsApp from an Android phone on a Mac.

Once linked, notifications come from the Mac app or the browser, not from the phone. That has two consequences.

• The phone can be elsewhere. WhatsApp's blog, quoted in the guide above, says linked devices connect independently. The Mac keeps receiving when the phone is in a bag across town, which no mirroring tool can do.
• macOS treats WhatsApp as any other app. Apple's Notifications settings page lists the per-app controls: Allow notifications, alert style, Lock Screen, badge, sound, and Show previews. If you use WhatsApp Web in a browser instead, the notifications belong to the browser, and Safari has separate controls for website notifications.

The App Store listing and WhatsApp's pages say nothing we could quote about muting a chat on the Mac only, so use the controls above and the app's own mute options, and test.

Route 2: mirror the phone's notifications

A mirroring app forwards whatever the phone shows, so WhatsApp is covered along with everything else. Setup for each app is in Android notifications on a Mac, including the notification access permission that Android requires.

KDE Connect is free, with a stable macOS release on its download page. Its wiki says "Any notifications you receive on your phone will be shown in your computer", and adds that some notifications, "such as those of Instant Messengers (IM) like Telegram can be replied on the fly through the computer notification itself". It does not name WhatsApp in that sentence, so treat replying as something to test.

The Relay shows the phone's notifications as Mac notifications. That is its notifications feature. It does not send replies to texts or chats; for that you open the app on the phone or use WhatsApp's own Mac app. Your notifications travel directly between your phone and your Mac over your local network and are not uploaded to The Relay's servers. It costs $19.99, paid once, from the download page, and both devices must be on the same network or within Bluetooth range, which is the honest limit: it tells you about a message on the phone next to you, not on a phone at home.

A mirrored WhatsApp notification says what the phone's notification said. If the phone's notification hides the message text, the mirrored one on the Mac will too.

Why do I get every message twice, and how do I stop it?

Because both routes are doing their job. WhatsApp for Mac notifies you, and the phone's notification is mirrored as well. There are three ways out.

The second fix is the one most people end up with: the mirror carries the alert, and WhatsApp for Mac is where you go to answer. The phone-side controls for the first fix are in choosing which Android notifications reach your Mac.

Whether WhatsApp on the phone goes quiet by itself while you are active on the Mac is not something its pages told us, so do not count on it.

What about Telegram, Signal, Slack, and the rest?

The same two routes, app by app. If an app has a Mac version, it can notify the Mac on its own, with no phone involved. If it does not, or you cannot install it on a work Mac, mirroring is the only route. The mirror is also the only way to see all of them in one place without five apps open. Each app's maker documents its own desktop version; check for a Mac download before assuming.

How do I test it in five minutes?

1. Ask someone to send you a WhatsApp message while the phone is across the room. Count the Mac notifications. One is right; two means both routes are on.
2. Click the notification. Note whether it opens WhatsApp for Mac, does nothing, or shows text only.
3. Mute a group on the phone and have someone post in it. Check whether the Mac stays quiet.
4. Lock the Mac and repeat step 1. Check what the lock screen shows.
5. Put the phone in airplane mode and repeat. WhatsApp for Mac should still receive; a mirror cannot.

Questions people ask

Can I get WhatsApp notifications on a Mac without the phone nearby?

Yes, with WhatsApp's own Mac app or WhatsApp Web, which receive messages as linked devices. A mirroring app needs the phone within reach of the Mac.

Can I reply to WhatsApp from a mirrored notification?

With WhatsApp for Mac, yes, in the app. KDE Connect describes replying from the notification for some messaging apps and names Telegram as its example. The Relay shows notifications and does not send replies.

Do I need to give an app notification access for WhatsApp for Mac?

No. Linking WhatsApp to the Mac is done inside WhatsApp. Notification access is only needed by a mirroring app, because it reads the phone's notifications.