Meta has said that WhatsApp is almost ready to send messages to third-party apps for EU-based users, revealing details about the upcoming update’s new features and enhanced user experience.

The update will also impact Meta’s Facebook-tied Messenger service and will add new options to the WhatsApp platform. These include the capability to place WhatsApp messages in the same inbox as third-party chats or keep them distinct. Among the other new features Meta is introducing are notifications that inform users about third-party conversations and reminders of a third-party app becoming available.

Meta also teased cross-platform voice and video calling within WhatsApp, which is planned for rollout in 2027.

Meta wrote in a blog post:

We’ve heard loud and clear from other messaging services that the option for users to connect with people using other apps should be clear and easy to find. As a result, we have built new notifications into WhatsApp and Messenger that inform users about third-party chats. We will remind users each time a new third-party messaging app becomes available.”

WhatsApp has been working on a solution to enable third-party interoperability for the past two-and-a-half years, a process accelerated by the European Union’s introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) earlier this year. The DMA enforces stricter regulations on designated messaging services, or digital “gatekeepers,” to promote fair competition and openness across platforms.

Wryly, Meta ends its blog by inviting third-party messaging platforms to fulfil their end of the bargain in making their services compatible with WhatsApp and Messenger in turn: “We will keep collaborating with third-party messaging services in order to provide the safest and best experience. 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 hasn’t yet provided a concrete release or rollout date for the WhatsApp and Messenger update.

More Specifics On The New UI And Features

Meta has spent the past six months since the DMA was passed developing the new features detailed above and enhancing the user experience.

In addition to the new user notifications about third-party chats, Meta outlines that it has created a fresh onboarding process that allows users to explore third-party chat integrations and activate the feature seamlessly. Meta says that users can select which third-party apps they wish to receive messages from and customise their inbox management preferences accordingly.

WhatsApp is boosting user flexibility by introducing an option to manage third-party messages. Users can choose to have these messages delivered into a separate folder or opt for a combined inbox that displays all messages in one place. This setting can be toggled on and off at any point.

Meta emphasises that it has exceeded the “basic” requirements for interoperable messaging under the DMA by offering “rich” messaging capabilities. These include reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts.

Perhaps most eye-catching of all, from a UC perspective, was Meta’s roadmap for future WhatsApp cross-platform features. As well as its plans to introduce group creation capabilities in 2025, it also outlines the addition of voice and video calling options in 2027, in compliance with the DMA regulations.

Meta Details The Technicalities Of WhatsApp’s Interoperability Plan

In March, Meta explained the technicalities of how WhatsApp will preserve its end-to-end encrypted messaging while remaining interoperable with third-party messaging services.

Third-party providers are required to sign an agreement before they can interoperate with Messenger and WhatsApp. While WhatsApp encourages the use of its Signal protocol for encryption, Meta says it is open to accepting other protocols, provided they meet the same stringent security standards.

Third-party providers create message structures encrypted with the Signal Protocol, which are then packaged into XML stanzas for transmission. Meta’s servers handle message delivery to connected clients through a persistent connection. Media files sent by clients are hosted on third-party servers, with Meta clients downloading them via a Meta proxy service.

Meta emphasises that its end-to-end encryption (E2EE) guarantee for messaging services requires control over both sending and receiving clients. This ensures that only the sender and the intended recipients can access the content, preventing unauthorised interception or eavesdropping.



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