Just like how WhatsApp for web/desktop requires the user’s phone to be connected to the same WiFi network to work, the same can be said about Google’s Allo for web where users are required to have their phones turned on with a network connection. However the good news is that that could change soon.
In a tweet by Allo engineer Justin Uberti (via Android Police), it seems that Google is working on making it so that Allo users on the web will be able to use the app without the need for their phones. It is unclear as to when this migration will take place, all we know is that it appears to be in the works.
Yes, we are in the process of migrating the backend system to support completely independent devices.
— Justin Uberti (@juberti) March 8, 2018
As it stands there are plenty of messaging apps on mobile that work independently on desktop. Take for example Skype, Facebook Messenger, LINE, KakaoTalk, Discord, and even Google’s Hangout works without needing a phone’s presence, so we’re not sure why Allo did not launch with such functionality out the door.
In any case we guess better late than never, so if you’re someone who does use Allo frequently and switches back and forth between the desktop and mobile version, hopefully this feature will arrive sooner rather than later.