“WhatsApp” Prepares a Feature Allowing Messages from Other Apps

9th November 2024

2 minutes read

"WhatsApp" Prepares a Feature Allowing Messages from Other Apps

WhatsApp is gearing up to launch a new button in its next update, which will allow users of other messaging apps, such as Messenger, Telegram, and even iMessage, to chat with you, according to “The Sun.”

This new button will be available in the settings, where you can enable or disable it. A separate inbox will be created for messages from external apps, keeping them distinct from regular messages.

WhatsApp does not guarantee the same level of security and privacy as it does for in-app messages, as messages within WhatsApp are secured with end-to-end encryption, which is not applied to messages received from other apps.

Regarding this, WhatsApp’s Director of Engineering, Dick Brewer, stated, “There is a real tension between providing an easy way to enable this feature for message exchange with external apps and maintaining WhatsApp’s privacy and security.”

Currently, it is not possible to receive any messages from external apps through WhatsApp, and it remains unclear when this feature will be available, as it is not yet in the beta version.

This feature will be revolutionary for WhatsApp, potentially becoming your main platform for all your conversations, thereby reducing the need to split messages across multiple apps.

While this feature is considered one of WhatsApp’s greatest, the European Union has posed a barrier due to the Digital Markets Act, known as “DMA,” which aims to ensure fair competition and maintain openness in digital services by regulating what it calls “gatekeepers.”

“Gatekeepers” are companies providing core platform services, as defined by the Digital Markets Act, which requires all apps within the European Union to be interoperable with other messaging apps.

Under this law, the European Union does not recognize WhatsApp as a “gatekeeper,” so European residents will not be able to use the new feature.

This law also applies to iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, and Signal, not just WhatsApp.