WhatsApp & Messenger To Become Interoperable Using Signal Encryption Protocol

Laiba MohsinLast Updated: Mar 9, 2024

In a recent development, Meta announced its plan to make third-party messaging services interoperable with its Messenger and WhatsApp services for users in the EU. It is a part of Meta’s efforts to concede with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. According to the act, it is mandatory for Meta to partially open its apps to work with competing service providers. For all those unaware, WhatsApp already boasts end-to-end encryption (E2EE). however, it can’t be sure that other third-party apps offer the same standard. To protect messages outside Meta’s platforms, the company is addressing privacy by using Signal’s encryption protocol.

There are still security concerns about the lack of control over messages received by third-party services. They are quite evident if the other apps do not use the same Signal protocol. In such cases, the agreement that Meta is mandating with third parties will surely help. WhatsApp engineering director Dick Brouwer stated:

“To interoperate, third-party providers will sign an agreement with Messenger and/or WhatsApp and we’ll work together to enable interoperability. Today we’ll publish the WhatsApp Reference Offer for third-party providers which will outline what will be required to interoperate with the service. The Reference Offer for Messenger will follow in due course”

Meta Makes WhatsApp & Messenger Interoperable

In addition to the Signal protocol, third-party service providers must go through a cryptographic signature process to link with WhatsApp servers. Third-party interoperability for Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp will significantly open up the EU messaging market. Currently, Meta has not announced such plans for other countries, perhaps due to concerns about security and competition.

The development underscores the growing influence of the EU’s DMA. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is pushing all the big companies to flutter things up with their walled garden in a way they have never done before. It already designated Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and ByteDance as gatekeepers, with new rules applying for most of their products and services with a few oddities such as Microsoft’s Edge and Apple’s iMessage apps. Let’s see what comes next. Stay tuned for more updates.

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Laiba MohsinLast Updated: Mar 9, 2024