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WhatsApp could soon allow you to send messages to third party apps like Signal or Telegram with the new chat interoperability feature. The new feature is being developed in response to the regulations of Europe’s Digital Markets Acts (DMA) that requires big companies or \u2018Gatekeepers\u2019 six months to facilitate communication among \u00a0different messaging apps.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
According to a report by WABetainfo, WhatsApp is working on a new section for third party chats which is currently available on WhatsApp beta version 2.24.5.18. WhatsApp build version 2.24.5.18. The leaked screenshot by WABetainfo reveals that the chat interoperability feature will be a opt in feature meaning that users will have to manually turn on the feature to use it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, even prior to turning on the feature, WhatsApp will reportedly throw in 3 precatutions. The first precaution reads, \u201cYou’re messaging someone outside of WhatsApp. Third-party apps may use different end-to-end encryption.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second precaution reads, “Spam and Scams may be more common in third-party chats”. Meanwhile, the third precaution reads, \u201cThird-party apps have their own policies. They may handle your data differently than WhatsApp does.”<\/p>\n
The new chat interoperability feature will allow users to send messages to users who are not on the personal messaging app and use a different service like Telegram or Signal. However, the WaBetaInfo report notes that these chats will listed under the chats tab in a different inbox.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dick Brouwer, an engineering director at WhatsApp, had also recently confirmed in an interaction with the Wired magazine that the chat interoperability feature will be coming to WhatsApp soon in response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations. However, the report had noted that the interoperable chats will only be focused on text messages, images, voice \u00a0messages and videos for the initital phase and feature like calls and group chats may take years to trickle down to interoperable chats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Explaining the approach behind interoperable chats taken by Meta, Brouwer had said, \u201cWe think that the best way to deliver this approach is through a solution that is built on WhatsApp\u2019s existing client-server architecture\u2026This effectively means that the approach that we\u2019re trying to take is for WhatsApp to document our client- server protocol and letting third-party clients connect directly to our infrastructure and exchange messages with WhatsApp clients.”<\/p>\n
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