Google Allo, that chat app from Google that nobody uses is getting a much needed and highly anticipated update. Google Allo is now live on the web.
A post on the Google Allo support forums directs users to visit https://allo.google.com/web in order to be able to chat and interact with other Allo users on the web, something echoed by Amit Fulay, the person in-charge of Allo and its sister, Duo, at Google, in a tweet.
With this, users will now be able to use Assistant, the witty personal assistant from Google that debuted on the chat app last year, on the web, something that had so far not been possible.
How Google Allo on the web works
Google Allo on the web works pretty much like WhatsApp on the web: it is a mirror of the phone application As such, one is able to chat with contacts on Allo and interact with Google Assistant as long as the smartphone that has Google Allo installed and active, is online. If you have never used WhatsApp web or the WhatsApp desktop app for Mac and Windows, then that’s pretty much how it works.
The advantage with such a setup is that your conversations are secure since they stay on the phone but the disadvantage is that you’re pretty much in the dark should you not have your phone with you when you fire up Google Allo on the web.
How to setup Google Allo on the web
So here’s what you do:
– Go to this link (Google Allo for web) on your computer’s Chrome browser
– On the Google Allo app on your phone, click the hamburger menu on the side (the three lines)
– Click on “Allo for web”
– Click on “Scan QR code” in the resulting page and direct your phone at the Chrome web page (this one) displaying a QR code
– That’s it! You’ll now be able to chat on the web as well as interact with Google Assistant
As a user, you don’t need to do anything on your end for the “Allo on web” option to show up in your Google Allo app. It’s a server-side update so as long as you’re online for a while, the app will automatically bring up the option. I am on version 15 of the Allo app and I was thinking that I’d need to be on 16 in order to get it but that wasn’t the case. As I watched, the “Allo on web” menu just showed up. Nice!
For now, Google Allo on the web is only available to those using Android devices and on the Chrome web browser. Loading https://allo.google.com/web on other browsers like Opera and Edge resulted in a message asking me to install Chrome.
