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There is still no way to install a native Linux application for whatsapp, so I always use whatsapp's webapp with my daily browser (chromium based brave-browser).

Everything works [mostly] fine, except when I need to click on a whatsapp link in a web site, that is supposed to open a conversation with a certain new cell phone number. Here's an example on BOSE's site when you click in the button "message us".

When I click on a button like that one, I get redirected to api.whatsapp.com and then I get a popup prompt on my browser asking:

Open xdg-open?
https://api.whatsapp.com wants to open this application.

If I proceed, nothing happens.

I would expect to have a new whatsapp web tab opened to be able to message the new contact.

I have tried to use xdg-mime but I can't understand how to use it.

chronos00
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    I found a snap https://snapcraft.io/whatsdesk and https://github.com/eneshecan/whatsapp-for-linux/releases – nobody Dec 31 '21 at 22:12

2 Answers2

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You should be able to avoid the xdg popup by blocking JavaScript for api.whatsapp.com through site permissions. Since the webpage has a "continue to chat" link that redirects to web.whatsapp.com, assuming I understood the problem correctly, that link is the solution.

Martin
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  • Wow, that was surprisingly simple. After I blocked JavaScript, the popup was not shown after clicking on "message us". Instead, I was able to click on "continue to chat" in the following page, and web.whatsapp.com was loaded with the appropriate chat opened. Thank you! – chronos00 Jan 01 '22 at 23:12
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    Here are the steps to do this. Look for the three dots icon next to your avatar in the upper right corner, click on it and choose the _settings_ option. On the page that opens in the left menu, click _Privacy and security_. In the options that appear in the center, click _Site Settings_. At the bottom of the contents section, click _Javascript_. At the bottom, in the _Customized behaviors_ section, click the add button for the _Not allowed to use javascript_ option and type in the text box `api.whatsapp.com` and you're done. – Mike Aug 10 '22 at 16:08
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    You don't need to block JavaScript. You can right-click on the link and pick open in a new tab or window. – jcubic Aug 20 '22 at 16:24
  • That's brilliant. It worked, many thanks Martin! I didn't know I can block JavaScript for websites. – Onkeltem Aug 17 '23 at 10:04
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this worked for me, just register chrome as whatsapp handler, no need to disable javascript

xdg-mime default google-chrome.desktop 'x-scheme-handler/whatsapp'
francarl
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