WhatsApp Is Working On Update To Support Third-Party Chats

European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust forces big tech companies to change many of their services to concede with the new legislation. For instance, the App Store is about to make certain changes. Reports claim that DMA will also affect messaging apps. It seems as if Meta has already been working on making WhatsApp compatible with third-party chats due to EU regulations.

WhatsApp To Support third-party chats Soon

According to the latest reports, the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS includes a new section “third-party chats.” It is pertinent to mention here that the section is hidden right now. However, it will let users access chats from other messaging platforms, such as Telegram and Discord quite soon. DMA wants the messaging giants to implement some kind of interoperability between them. WhatsApp is no doubt the most popular messaging app available worldwide. Bringing such an interoperable feature will allow users to talk to their friends and family on another apps as well.  We still don’t know how exactly platforms will do this. However, WhatsApp seems to be ready for this.

The question arises here whether DMA affects iMessage. Back in September, the European Commission opened an investigation about whether Apple’s messaging platform would also have to concede with the new antitrust legislation. Although, things don’t look good for the App Store, the silicon giant may have plans to get away with iMessage. Last year, Apple argued with regulators that iMessage isn’t popular in Europe, so it shouldn’t be investigated for antitrust. European Commission has reportedly considered Apple’s argument to be valid, although a final decision won’t be revealed until next month. If it comes true, Apple will not have to support third-party chats for users in Europe. Otherwise, the firm will have to make iMessage compatible with other platforms.

Apple will soon add support for the RCS standard to the iPhone. It is expected to make communication between its Messages app and the standard Android Messages app more seamless. Let’s wait and watch what comes next.