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WhatsApp, the most popular instant messaging application in Spain, will soon allow its 2 billion users to interact with other platforms, such as Telegram or Signal, without needing to download separate apps. This is a real watershed moment for WhatsApp, which until now has been a tightly closed system.

 

But why the sudden shift? Well, next month, the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) comes into force across the EU, legislation that requires gatekeepers (Big Tech with more than 45 million users on the European continent) to adopt a series of measures to improve their services – one of them being interoperability.

 

WhatsApp parent company Meta has been designated gatekeeper.

 

 

The main objective of this change is to offer interoperability with third parties and “at the same time preserve privacy, security and integrity,” WhatsApp engineering director Dick Brouwer explained.

 

For now, interoperability will only work on one-to-one messages but it will eventually be rolled out to include group chats and calls as well.

 

It’s up to individual users whether or not they want to use cross-app messaging – they’ll need to opt in if they do – and WhatsApp will keep messages from other apps separate under a ‘third party chats’ section so they won’t appear in the main inbox.

 

The EU has given companies just 6 months to implement interoperability and while WhatsApp may be at the forefront, it seems that other platforms are slow to sign up. This is largely due to the fact that enabling cross-app messaging is technically very complex, and all other platforms will have to adhere to WhatsApp’s terms.

 

The other big player, Apple, has yet to comment on its plans, but under the new EU rules it seems inevitable that it too will have to offer interoperability on its iMessage service.

 

 

Image: Freepik