WhatsApp is working on cross-platform messaging

A WhatsApp for Android beta replace (model 2.23.19.8) that got here out as we speak comprises a brand new display referred to as Third-party chats, experiences WABetaInfo. For now, the display is neither useful nor accessible by customers, in keeping with WABetaInfo. But its title is a robust clue that this is doubtless step one to opening Meta’s encrypted messages app to cross-platform compatibility.

The beta comes simply days after the European Commission confirmed that WhatsApp proprietor Meta meets the definition of a “gatekeeper” below the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires communication software program like WhatsApp to interoperate with third-party messaging apps by March 2024. WABetaInfo tweeted a screenshot of the display:

The DMA’s purpose, per the European Commission’s FAQ in regards to the legislation, is to maintain gatekeepers “from imposing unfair conditions” and to “ensure the openness of important digital services.” Beyond dictating that messaging apps should interoperate, the DMA requires that gatekeepers, amongst different issues, let customers take away pre-installed apps or store different app shops.

Both Meta and Microsoft are planning their very own cell app shops in response to the DMA. The European Commission is investigating whether or not Apple’s iMessage and Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Edge browser, and promoting service meet the bar for the brand new regulation.