Meta says it will soon roll out third-party chat integration on WhatsApp across Europe to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The feature will allow users to exchange messages with people using other messaging apps that opt into interoperability.
Following small-scale tests, Meta confirmed that users who enable the feature will be able to send messages, images, voice notes, videos, and files to contacts on apps such as BirdyChat and Haiket. Group messaging with third-party users will launch once partners add support.
Over the coming months, WhatsApp users in Europe will receive a notification in the Settings tab explaining how to opt in. The feature will work only on Android and iOS, not on desktop, web, or tablets. Users can switch third-party chats on or off at any time.
Meta said its work with BirdyChat and Haiket follows a three-year collaboration with European regulators to develop a compliant interoperability standard. Third-party chats must use end-to-end encryption equivalent to WhatsApp’s.
In September, Meta previewed what the feature would look like, including the ability to keep third-party messages in a separate inbox or merge them with regular chats.
