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Meta has finally pulled the curtain back on what its plans for third-party chats in WhatsApp and Messenger will look like. The change, which is coming for users in the European Union, introduces new options to put Messenger and WhatsApp messages in the same inbox as third-party chats or keep them separate.
It’s building new notifications into Messenger and WhatsApp as well, which will let users know when they can link chats from newly supported apps. Meta says it has “gone above and beyond the ‘basic’ features required for interoperable messaging” and will offer rich messaging features, like reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts.
It will also start including the option to create groups with other people in third-party chats next year. But Meta’s plan for interoperability goes beyond messaging — the company says it will roll out support for third-party video and voice calls in 2027.
Meta has been working on bringing third-party chats into WhatsApp and Messenger for users in the EU for quite some time. The company is considered a “digital gatekeeper” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which means it must comply with requirements to make WhatsApp and Messenger interoperable with third-party apps, like iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, Signal, and others.
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There are some hurdles it will have to overcome, as other companies that want to integrate with WhatsApp and Messenger will need to use the same Signal Protocol to keep messages private. In a copy of the agreement third-party apps have to sign, Meta says it will make the Signal Protocol available to partners upon request.
