Meta is making significant updates to WhatsApp and Messenger to allow interoperability with third-party chat apps in Europe, the company announced in a recent post.
The changes are part of Meta’s compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which requires major companies, known as “gatekeepers,” to ensure their platforms work seamlessly with third-party services, preventing them from favoring their own products.
Meta began developing this feature last year in response to the DMA’s regulations. The company gathered feedback from potential partners and stakeholders to shape the new functionality.
Meta’s update introduces notifications in WhatsApp and Messenger to alert users when a third-party service is available for integration. Users can choose which third-party apps they want to receive messages from and decide whether to keep these messages in a separate inbox or merge them with their regular chats in a combined inbox.
In addition to basic text messaging, Meta aims to bring rich messaging features to third-party chats. These features include reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts. Looking ahead, users will be able to create group chats by next year, and by 2027, they will be able to make voice and video calls across different apps.
“Users will start to see the third-party chat option when a third-party messaging service has built, tested, and launched the necessary technology to make the feature a positive and secure user experience,” Meta stated.
However, not all third-party apps will be immediately integrated with WhatsApp and Messenger. Meta plans to continue collaborating with other services to expand the availability of this feature over time.
