Meta will make changes to WhatsApp to comply with the new Digital Markets Law, and is preparing a function to exchange messages with other apps.
If there is something that stands out about WhatsApp, it is the good pace it keeps with the changes. Almost every week the platform integrates some new features in its beta version that subsequently reach the stable version. The most recent example is the ability to send photos and videos in original quality.
One of the next changes to come to the app could be motivated by the new regulations that are in place. regulating the actions of big technology companies: the new Digital Markets Law of the European Union. This seeks to make the digital sector more competitive.
Some of its measures are to guarantee that users can unsubscribe from the basic services of a platform, or not to promote its own services or products in a more favorable way than those of other brands. Furthermore, the so-called “market gatekeepers”, including Meta, must “ensure the interoperability of the basic functionalities of its chat services.”
The messaging app would be preparing changes to adjust to the new European Union standard, which forces messaging apps to make their basic functions compatible with other third-party alternatives. This novelty has already been seen on WhatsApp, specifically in its new beta version for Android, the 2.23.19.8.
According to WaBetaInfo, The app would already have a section called “Third-party apps“in which all the conversations you have with users of other applications, so that they do not mix with the conventional WhatsApp ones. These chats with third-party apps would only include basic communication, not extra functions such as video calls or video messages.
📝 WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.19.8: what’s new?
WhatsApp is working on complying with new EU regulations by developing support for chat interoperability, and it will be available in a future update of the app! pic.twitter.com/Jpd9Leh2Ki
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) September 10, 2023
The idea with this is that users of other messaging applications can send messages to WhatsApp without having to install the application or register in it. This can be extremely useful, especially for all those people who refuse to use WhatsApp for various reasons. Now, they will not be left out of the conversation because they do not have an account in the app
For this, the app has a deadline that ends in March 2024, so, although the company is already preparing this novelty, it is possible that it will not be launched for a few months.