Meta To Allow WhatsApp And Messenger To Work With Third-party Apps

(RTTNews) - Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) recently announced that it is complying with the new EU law, the Digital Markets Act or DMA, effective from March 7th. To comply with this law, Meta has decided to allow WhatsApp and Messenger in Europe to work with third-party messaging apps.

This change will enable users to exchange messages with other messaging apps that support this feature.

Meta has been collaborating with the European Commission on interoperability for almost two years. In the future, Meta intends to incorporate group chats and calling among WhatsApp, Messenger, and third-party apps.

Currently, third-party developers will have to use the Signal protocol to connect with Messenger and WhatsApp. Meta uses this protocol for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on both apps, as it is considered the current standard for E2EE chats.

Meta had previously stated that engaging with third-party chats would be optional for users due to potential spam and scams. However, now, Meta requires third parties to use the Signal protocol, with potential exceptions in the future. Meta will authorize the use of a different protocol only if it matches the security guarantees of Signal.

To enable interoperability, creators of third-party messaging apps must sign an agreement with Meta. Meta aims to activate interoperability with another service within three months of a request, although public utilization may take longer.

Meta emphasizes its control over messaging within the WhatsApp and Messenger ecosystems, ensuring that only the sender and intended recipients can view messages. However, Meta acknowledges that messages originating from or sent to third-party apps may not be as secure as those confined within its ecosystem.

Developers linking their apps to WhatsApp and Messenger must store media files they send to Meta's platforms on their servers. Subsequently, WhatsApp or Messenger will retrieve the media through a Meta proxy service.

This change in the structure of WhatsApp and Messenger in Europe is a significant step towards interoperability and will provide more options for users to communicate with others using different messaging apps.