WhatsApp details how its interoperability works with other messaging services

The adoption of the DMA (Digital Markets Act) is gradually moving the lines. Initiated by the European Commission, this regulation aims to regulate the operation of digital giants, in particular by requiring them to open their products to third-party download portals – this is the case for Apple’s iPhone/iPad – but also to make instant messaging applications interoperable. Understand that WhatsApp, the leader in this field, will be forced to comply from March 2024, when the DMA comes into force. Or rather, to be precise, to formalize the tools that the application will put in place.

The Meta service clarified today with Wired its intentions regarding interoperability. One of WhatsApp’s engineering directors, Dick Brouwer, discussed the details of its implementation. This will involve authorizing the exchange, within WhatsApp, of messages with other services. To begin with, it will only be possible to send text, images, videos and voice between users; group chats and other calls will not be supported. Above all, it indicates that the compatibility of apps with third-party services will not be systematic: “One of the key requirements here, and it’s a really important one, is that users must enable the option.”, he points out. This is justified by a security requirement, WhatsApp having long offered end-to-end encryption of conversations by default, Facebook Messenger having joined it at the end of 2023. From the point of view of this Meta spokesperson, the opening to third parties “could be a major source of spam and scams”.

How will the opening of WhatsApp to third parties look once activated? A dedicated section, probably in the form of a tab available on the application’s home page, will be reserved for external messages. These, to meet Meta’s security requirements, will have to — if possible, according to Dick Brouwer — use the Signal encryption protocol, which the firm itself operates, as do Google (Message) and Skype. ; the service will remain open to third parties using other protocols, provided they meet its security prerequisites. It now remains to be seen which applications will set themselves this mission… and whether they will be validated by the Meta teams.