Share via WhatsApp only if it is installed

Question

I'm trying to make a WhatsApp share option (for a mobile website) available to visitors that have the app installed.

What would be the best way to verify that the visitor is able to use this feature so I can enable/disable it accordingly?

The feature would just be a link using the custom URL scheme:

<a href="whatsapp://send?text=Hello%20World!">Hello, world!</a>

could you resolve this problem? – Dhairya Vora Jul 06 '15 at 06:57 — Dhairya Vora, Jul 06 '15 at 06:57

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 09 '21 at 17:57

10

You can solve this by checking whether the link will open or not.

Here is my code

function open_whatsapp(){
    $.ajax({
      type: 'HEAD',
      url: 'whatsapp://send?text=Hello%20World!',
      success: function() {
        window.location='whatsapp://send?text=Hello%20World!';   
      },
      error: function() {
        alert("Whatsapp not installed");
      }
    });
  }

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<button id="share_whatsapp" onclick="open_whatsapp()">Share with Whatsapp</button>

edited Aug 09 '21 at 17:57

Michiel Pater

22,377
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answered Apr 19 '16 at 04:56

Sree KS

1,311
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5

I get the following error each time I execute open_whatsapp(): "Failed to load whatsapp://send?phone=+XXX: Cross origin requests are only supported for protocol schemes: http, data, chrome, chrome-extension, https." – RaphArbuz Apr 23 '18 at 15:15

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 27 '17 at 02:36

It is not good solution, because it depends on OS.

if(isMobile()){
   function onWhatsAppClick(e){
       e.preventDefault();
       window.location='whatsapp://send?text=text=Hello%20World!';
   }
}

Explain:

You should check and show WhatsApp on mobile only.
Prevent default, and open the link with window.location

Plunker : https://plnkr.co/edit/U4CtbxeA81d25lc7dlGe?p=preview

Share via WhatsApp only if it is installed

2 Answers2

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