Interoperability is the key word of the month of March on the Old Continent. It should therefore not be surprising to see some changes appear on our favorite services.
WhatsApp is the world’s most widely used messaging app, allowing billions of users to communicate with each other for free every day. This popularity earned him the status of gatekeeper (gatekeeper) under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The Meta subsidiary therefore now has obligations on the Old Continent, in particular that of opening up to competing services, which cannot take long.
Read the future in screenshots
It’s crazy how WhatsApp reveals itself in its beta versions. The latest ones (2.24.5.20 And 2.24.6.2 for Android) are testing new pages related to adding third-party messaging services, such as Signal or Telegram. Our colleagues from WABetaInfo were able to get their hands on them, and they give us a glimpse of what users will be dealing with in the coming weeks or months.
A first screenshot shows a rough outline of the interface that will be used to access other messaging services. If it seems rather rudimentary, it is partly because WhatsApp will not have access to all the features of its competitors. Indeed, we already know that, initially, voice calls or group conversations will not be available, and that only text conversations will be included.
WABetaInfo was also able to access a page to disable access to third-party services, intended for those who want to focus their experience only on WhatsApp. In addition, a button will provide access to the list of compatible messaging systems, which will facilitate their integration.
Note that Instagram is not part of the list of services to which WhatsApp will have to open, WABetaInfo specifying that Meta’s social platform is only used here to illustrate functionality.
A deployment that should not take long to take place
We do not yet know when these new features will appear in the stable version of the application. However, with the DMA coming into force in March, it is time for the tech giants to hand in their copies. The beta version of WhatsApp on iOS is also affected by these tests, and we can assume that Meta is working hard to make this more concrete as soon as possible.
But, be careful, users who do not reside in the European Union will not be able to access third-party services from WhatsApp, Meta having specified that the functionality will only be deployed in the territories affected by the regulation. At least, until other countries get involved, like Japan, which seems ready to follow in Europe’s footsteps.
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WhatsApp is an essential application that allows you to easily chat with your contacts, whatever the model of their phone, by voice and video. A true reference used by billions of users, this app is easy to use and available in French.
WhatsApp is an essential application that allows you to easily chat with your contacts, whatever the model of their phone, by voice and video. A true reference used by billions of users, this app is easy to use and available in French.
Source : Android Police
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