Pakyong , 8 February : WhatsApp is gearing up to introduce support for third-party chat applications, allowing users to communicate with friends on different messaging platforms.
This move precedes the implementation of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) in March, aimed at fostering fair competition in digital markets.
Dick Brouwer, an engineering director at WhatsApp, expressed readiness to accommodate the platform’s vast user base of over 2 billion individuals, emphasizing the company’s commitment to ensuring both connectivity and privacy. Users will be able to exchange various media types, including text, images, voice messages, videos, and files, across different apps, with features like calls and group chats slated for future integration.
Participation in this feature will be optional to safeguard against spam and scams, with messages from other apps segregated into a separate section within the WhatsApp inbox for those who opt in.
Despite WhatsApp’s year-long efforts in development, the rollout of this functionality may still require some patience from users.
Non-compliance with the EU’s DMA regulations could result in significant fines, amounting to up to 10 percent of a company’s annual revenue or more for repeated offenses.
While it remains uncertain whether platforms like Telegram will reciprocate this interconnectivity with WhatsApp, Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is also exploring options to enable Messenger to interact with other chat applications.
