Instant messaging and voice-over-IP mobile application, WhatsApp is planning to launch a new feature that would allow you to message third-party apps like Signal or Telegram.
The current version of WhatsApp beta, 2.24.5.18, includes a new section for third-party chats, which is reportedly in development, according to a report from WABetainfo on Monday.
WABetainfo is an independent platform that announces news about WhatsApp, its updates and new features.
The new development is understood to be in response to the restrictions set by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, which give big businesses, or “gatekeepers,” six months to enable communication across various messaging apps.
According to the screenshot that was released from WABetainfo, users would need to actively enable the chat interoperability feature to utilise it.
WhatsApp was launched in 2009 and has since evolved to be operated on Android, iOS, iPadOS, KaiOS, macOS, Windows, Windows Phone, Wear OS, Web, and Meta Quest devices.
Sending messages to people who are using other services, such as Telegram or Signal, and are not on the personal messaging app is made possible with the new chat interoperability function. However, according to the WaBetaInfo article, these conversations will appear in a separate inbox under the chats tab.
However, to use this feature, WhatsApp will reportedly add 3 precautions. The first is: “You’re messaging someone outside of WhatsApp. Third-party apps may use different end-to-end encryption.”
The second reads, “Spam and Scams may be more common in third-party chats”. The third reads, “Third-party apps have their policies. They may handle your data differently than WhatsApp does.”
EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) in early March, labelled some major internet companies and their services as “gatekeepers,” to ensure more equitable competition amongst the industry’s titans.
The entities on the list—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft—have been designated as gatekeepers and are subject to stringent guidelines meant to limit anticompetitive activity. (Apple, Meta, and TikTok have challenged their rankings; Microsoft and Google claim they won’t.)
News.ng gathered that the recent development is in anticipation of compliance with the EU.