WhatsApp is making a change in response to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The chat service will soon be available in third-party chats.

We got one at the beginning of the year Foretaste can be seen in the WhatsApp “Chats for third parties” section. Users who enable this feature will receive messages from other platforms in a new section of their inbox. WhatsApp will reveal more details about its plans next month. According to the DMA, this must be accompanied by the necessary security measures with regard to end-to-end encrypted messages, which is already the case with WhatsApp.

WhatsApp opens its app to third parties

WhatsApp is making changes under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission has appointed six gatekeepers responsible for the so-called core platform services. WhatsApp and Messenger are currently on the list of messaging platforms.

To comply with DMA rules, WhatsApp is making changes to interoperability between other messaging platforms. This includes text messages, images, voice messages, videos and files sent from person A to person B. The change will allow users to send messages to contacts on WhatsApp via third-party apps such as iMessage and Google Messages.

Interoperability versus security

The biggest challenge in moving to interoperability is security. Concerns are being raised about how Meta will keep its messages secure and encrypted as it integrates with other services.

WhatsApp wants the messaging services it works with to use the same Signal protocol to encrypt messages. Meta would also be open to apps that use alternative encryption protocols, as long as they can demonstrate that they meet WhatsApp’s security standards.

The deadline to comply with the rules within the DMA is set for March 6th. Tech giants are currently busy implementing various changes to comply with the DMA. For example, Google and Meta recently gave their users the ability to separate services.