Yes, but a ping every few second shouldn't make much difference. The problem is that phones go into power saving mode.
When using whatsapp from the website, that requires (required? Haven't used it in a while) the phone to be online, I occasionally had to wake up the phone.
When using whatsapp from the website, that requires (required? Haven't used it in a while) the phone to be online, I occasionally had to wake up the phone.