A future where WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and others can interoperate with each other. It seemed like a utopia, but it’s getting closer. On March 25, 2022, we explained how the new European framework would force tech giants to make messaging services interoperable.

Just five days after Europe named its “gatekeepers”, including Meta, the app’s latest beta reveals what will likely be WhatsApp’s most important feature in recent years: a section specifically targeting: interoperability with other applications.

As WaBetaInfo explains, the latest beta version (2.23.19.8) shows an extremely relevant new window: “Third party chats”. The European Digital Markets Act requires providers of mainstream messaging applications to open their services to third parties. Among the affected apps, WhatsApp cannot be missing.

Therefore, Meta is responsible for allowing WhatsApp to be interoperable with other applications. In practical terms, users of this application Chat with users of different messaging apps.

As the source points out, Meta seems clear on how this integration will be resolved in its app: in a separate area. In WhatsApp itself, this section of third-party chats will be implemented independently of the main screen, where all incoming messages from WhatsApp are collected.

Before March 2024, Meta must allow other messaging apps to be compatible with its service. If the specified period is not complied with, the amount of fine imposed by Europe will reach 10 percent of the company’s total business volume.

Image | pexels

in Xataka | Matrix is ​​the Mastodon of messaging like Slack or WhatsApp. And it is a decentralized protocol with great allies