WhatsApp is reportedly developing a new feature aimed at enabling chat interoperability. The messaging platform, owned by Meta, is looking into ways for users to communicate with individuals who are not on WhatsApp. This initiative follows the recent passage of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by the European Union, which is set to take effect in early 2024. Under this legislation, WhatsApp and other major “gatekeeper” platforms must provide interoperability for chat functions with users on different services.
The feature was identified by WABetaInfo, a platform that tracks developments in the WhatsApp application. In the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android smartphones, a new section labeled Third-party chats was discovered, though it remains empty at this stage, indicating that the feature is still under development.
The newly introduced section for third-party chats is not currently visible to end users. WABetaInfo was able to detect this feature within the code of the WhatsApp beta version 2.23.19.8. However, due to limited information available in the code, details regarding the operational mechanics of the feature remain unclear. Questions about whether chats from third-party services will integrate into the main chat list or if notifications from these apps will appear alongside typical WhatsApp messages are still unanswered.
It is noteworthy that Meta’s efforts to develop this section comes just six months prior to the enforcement of the EU’s DMA regulations concerning chat interoperability. By March 2024, platforms that have 45 million monthly users in EU member states, or possess a market capitalization of around EUR 75 billion (approximately Rs. 6,67,100 crore) or an annual turnover of at least EUR 7.5 billion (roughly Rs. 66,710 crore) in the EU, will be mandated to facilitate communication between different messaging platforms.
The timeline for implementing this feature poses challenges, especially considering that chat interoperability regulations require end-to-end encryption for all communications. Alongside creating significant security hurdles, the deployment of such a feature may necessitate an extensive amount of time; Meta initially announced back in 2019 that it would unify messaging across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, yet the full rollout of encrypted messaging across its platforms is still incomplete over three years later.
