- The Digital Markets Act requires platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger to allow interoperability with rival apps.
- The process will be gradual: first individual messages, then groups and calls, always with E2EE encryption.
- Interoperability will be optional, user-controlled, and poses challenges in privacy, security, and experience.
Revolutionary changes are coming to WhatsApp and Messenger following the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union. For the first time, leading messaging platforms will need to allow the interoperability, opening the door to direct communication between different apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, iMessage, and more. Despite the DMA now in effect, it's still not possible to send messages between rival apps, raising crucial questions about the technical, security, legal, and user experience reasons behind this delay. Here, you'll discover all the details, challenges, and how it will affect users and businesses inside and outside of Europe.
What does the Digital Markets Act require for messaging interoperability?
La The European Union provided its digital market with a new regulatory framework with the Digital Markets Act (DMA)., designed to encourage competition and limit the power of so-called "gatekeepers" or access guardiansThese platforms, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, are required to allow rival services to connect and exchange messages, files, images, and calls, at least in Europe.
The DMA came into force with the ambition of breaking the isolation of messaging ecosystems.Until now, each app only allowed you to communicate with users who had an account on that same platform. The DMA requires a paradigm shift: making it possible to exchange messages, images, videos, and other content. between different platforms without requiring duplicate accounts.
El main objective is to break down communication barriers, allowing, for example, WhatsApp users to chat with those who only use Telegram, Signal, or iMessage, without leaving their preferred app. However, the law establishes that:
- Interoperability is only mandatory for gatekeepers. designated by the EU. Not all apps have to connect, only those designated.
- The deployment is progressive: Initially only for individual messages (text, images, files), followed by groups and calls in later phases.
- Interoperability will be optional for the user: will only be activated if you expressly wish it to be.
- Users will be able to manage how and with whom they connect: will decide which external apps to receive messages from and how to organize them.
Why we still can't send messages between WhatsApp and other apps
Although the law is already effective, It is not yet possible to send messages between WhatsApp and other messaging apps.Why? The answer encompasses multiple technical, security, regulatory, and commercial challenges:
- Different encryption protocols: WhatsApp and Messenger use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Signal protocol, a standard recognized for its robustness. To interoperate, External apps must ensure equivalent encryption and preferably use the same protocol to avoid security breaches.
- No rival app has yet implemented the integration: While Meta (WhatsApp's parent company) has opened the door and published the technical documentation, so far Neither Telegram, Signal, nor other apps have completed the process or publicly expressed interest. in adopting interoperability with WhatsApp.
- Legal and operational complexity: To interconnect services, platforms must meet technical requirements (identity agreements, key management, secure storage, cross-notification management), legal requirements (signing contracts with Meta and accepting its terms), and organizational requirements (maintaining long-term support and updates).
- Strategic doubts of rival apps: Competing services may prefer to migrate users to their platform rather than facilitate cross-platform communication. For some companies, interoperability is not a priority due to their business models or concerns about user privacy.
The actual deployment will be gradual: Even when the integration goes live, it will happen in several phases. First, only one-to-one messages and files; then, group chats, and later, calls and video calls. All of this under the premise that interoperability is reversible and optional for each user, who can activate or deactivate it at their discretion. Until then, you can find out how how omegle works if you are looking for other communication alternatives.
How interoperability between WhatsApp and other messaging apps will work
Meta has published a concrete technical architecture for interoperabilityThird-party app developers must adopt the API offered by WhatsApp and comply with various security requirements to be able to officially connect. The system is designed as follows:
- Third-party chats on WhatsApp: Messages from other apps will appear in a new section called “third-party chats,” separate from traditional chats to help users identify their origin and avoid potential fraud and spam.
- Custom configuration management: Users will be able to choose which external apps they want to receive messages from and how to organize their inbox (keep them separate or combine them).
- Phased deployment: Initially, only individual messages (text, images, videos, files); later, groups and calls.
- Optional activation: Each user will decide whether to activate interoperability. It will not be active by default.
- Mandatory end-to-end encryption: Security is the top priority, so all interoperable apps must meet encryption standards equivalent to WhatsApp in order to connect.
- Simple activation process: The option to enable interoperability will be accessible in Settings > Account > Third-Party Chats, for users within the European Union.
- Smart notifications: WhatsApp will notify the user when a third-party app is compatible and offers the ability to connect.
Interoperability will thus make WhatsApp a gateway to communicating with users of other services without needing an account on those platforms. For example, from your WhatsApp account, you can text a friend who only uses Telegram or Signal if that app supports integration.
Implementation phases and planned functionalities in interoperability
The DMA does not require that all functionality be immediately available. The roadmap provides for a phased deployment which will be progressively expanded:
- First stage: Individual text messages, sending images, videos, voice notes and files between two users (no groups or calls).
- Second stage (future): sending messages in groups between different messaging applications.
- Third stage (future): voice and video calls, both individual and group, between different platforms.
This phased deployment reduces initial complexity and allows companies to fine-tune their systems, fix bugs, and improve the experience and security before opening up more advanced features. To learn more about these phases and how they may affect your daily use, check out our article on Recommendations for having an attractive Facebook profile and partner.
For users, interoperability will always be optional. and reversible: they can activate and deactivate it according to their preferences. They will also have granular control over the external apps they want to contact or receive messages from, as well as the option to combine or keep their inboxes separate.
Advantages and concerns regarding interoperability in messaging
While interoperability brings undeniable benefits in terms of freedom of communication and competition, also introduces technical, privacy and user experience challenges that deserve to be analyzed:
- Advantages:
- Greater freedom of choice: Users will no longer be tied to a single platform to chat with friends or contacts who use rival apps.
- Competition and security improvements: Interoperability will force companies to improve their encryption, privacy, and innovations to retain users.
- Reactions, direct replies, and unified notifications: Advanced features such as reactions, replies to specific messages, typing indicators, and read receipts will be maintained in the medium term.
- Challenges and concerns:
- Spam and phishing risks: Opening up to external messages may increase the risk of receiving unwanted content or scams, although anti-spam systems and filters will remain active.
- Privacy and anonymity: Some apps (such as Threema or Signal) fear that by connecting to WhatsApp, some anonymity and control over data will be lost, especially if users are identified by phone, email or unique ID.
- Complexity for developers: Integration involves managing disparate protocols, cross-authentication, key management, and legal agreements, which can hinder small businesses or apps focused on strict privacy.
- Inequality in the pace of innovation: Interoperable chats may take longer to receive new features than traditional chats due to the complexity of coordinating different platforms.
Interoperability will depend on the willingness and technical capabilities of each competing app. For example, Signal and Skype already use compatible encryption protocols, but others like Telegram (proprietary encryption not enabled by default), Viber, and iMessage will have to evaluate the requirements and their commercial interest before joining.
Technical, security, and privacy challenges in messaging interoperability
At the technical level, interoperability requires overcoming various challenges:
- Coordination of encryption protocols: Although several apps use the Signal protocol, implementation can vary and some use proprietary systems, which requires secure interoperability and agreed-upon standards.
- User ID management: WhatsApp uses phone numbers, Messenger and Instagram allow names or unique IDs, while other apps use random identifiers or pseudonyms; mapping these systems is complex and can make searching or adding contacts difficult.
- Intermediate bridges: If the protocols do not match exactly, an intermediary server ("bridge") may be required to receive, decrypt, and re-encrypt messages, which introduces risks such as possible man-in-the-middle attacks if the server is compromised.
- Managing notifications, blocking, and unwanted content: Reporting, blocking, and anti-spam systems must be coordinated across platforms, as well as moderation and response to inappropriate content.
- Legal and privacy settings: Sharing metadata with WhatsApp means accepting certain terms and agreements for third-party developers, something that generates reluctance in privacy-oriented apps.
Meta and security experts stress the absolute priority of maintaining end-to-end encryption throughout the interoperable messaging chain. However, cryptographers insist that achieving this level of security across open ecosystems is a very complex technical challenge, so interoperability could proceed in phases and with enhanced safeguards.
International impact: Will interoperability extend beyond Europe?
While The Digital Markets Act is only binding in the European Union, international pressure and concerns about privacy and freedom of communication lead many to wonder whether this interoperability will be adopted globallyCountries like the United States, India, and Brazil could require similar measures in the future, especially given the rise of technological regulation and data protection.
In any case, the pioneering European experience will serve as a laboratory for other regions. Success or failure in terms of security, privacy and user experience will be key to whether similar policies spread outside Europe..
How these changes will affect users and what they should be aware of
For the average user, interoperability will mean:
- More communication options without switching apps: You'll be able to receive messages from friends who use other apps (as long as those apps are interoperable) in your WhatsApp inbox, without having to create new accounts.
- Total control: You'll decide whether to activate interoperability and which apps to use it with. You can also choose whether to combine messages into a single inbox or keep them separate.
- Possible risks: You should be alert to unusual messages, messages from unknown sources, or messages about strange topics from other platforms. Phishing and spam strategies may increase until filters and blocks are fully adjusted.
- Privacy and anonymity: If you value extreme privacy, review the terms before enabling interoperability, as some metadata and your identifier may be shared with other platforms.
For those who value privacy and anonymity, it is advisable to keep communication confidential in apps where data control is greater and interoperability can be tightly managed. Privacy settings and contact identity verification will remain crucial. It is also advisable to read deleted messages on WhatsApp and avoid unofficial apps or “mods” that promise interoperability ahead of time, to protect your privacy.
For businesses, interoperability will open up new opportunities for customer service, marketing, and support across multiple platforms. However, it will require organizational and technological adjustments to manage message flows to and from different services, ensuring data protection and service continuity.
The interoperability of WhatsApp and Messenger marks the beginning of a new era in digital communication.Although the path will be gradual and fraught with technical, legal, and privacy challenges, it represents a victory for user rights and competition. Very soon, the distance between contacts on different platforms will be a thing of the past, although it will be your choice whether to take advantage of this bridge or remain in the traditional closed ecosystem. Stay tuned for upcoming news: interoperability has begun, and while it's not immediate, the future of messaging will be more open, secure, and diverse than ever.