WhatsApp is heavily rumoured to be developing a native application for Windows 10 and OS X.

It is possible to connect to your WhatsApp profile and display messages through a browser, but that only works through your phone. WhatsApp Web simply syncs through your phone and displays communications as a standard web page.

A desktop app would potentially work alone, so you won't need your phone to hand. It would be a much more elegant solution.

Screengrabs posted by Twitter user @WABetaInfo allegedly show translation requests from the WhatsApp development team suggesting that Windows PC and Mac versions are in the pipeline. Their timing, if genuine, also hint that the applications could appear soon.

Recent leaks have also suggested that WhatsApp will be rolling out voicemail capabilities too, positioning the mobile versions of the app directly against Microsoft's Skype and other VoIP services.

With a dedicated desktop version of WhatsApp, it looks like it could seriously rival Slack too.

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The rise of the alternative messaging service has clearly given the Facebook-owned WhatsApp food for thought.

We expect to hear more on this in the next few weeks. Keep 'em peeled.