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A NEW WhatsApp button that will appear in an upcoming update will allow users of third-party apps to chat with you inside the Meta messenger.
It means your WhatsApp will be able to receive messages sent to you from other apps, like Facebook Messenger, Telegram and even iMessage.
The company is working on a new third-party chat request button in Settings that users can switch on to allow cross-platform chats, according to a WaBetaInfo report.
The button can be toggled on or off, so WhatsApp users don’t necessarily have to have their app bombarded with conversations had on other platforms.
These third-party messages will have their own inbox, to avoid confusion, but also because WhatsApp cannot assure the same level of security and privacy as native messages.
WhatsApp prides itself on its end-to-end encryption – a security feature that scrambles messages to ensure no one can view the contents.
The notification feature is still under development, alongside cross-platform capabilities which WhatsApp has been working on for roughly two years.
No third-party apps can currently communicate with WhatsApp, and it’s unclear when the update will be ready.
The feature is not even ready for beta testers just yet.
Beta testers are tech-savvy users who use a product or software to make sure it works properly, before it is released to the general public.
The game-changing feature would make WhatsApp a one-stop-shop for the majority of your conversations.
But there is a pretty big catch.
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‘Gatekeeper services’
It will only be available to users inside the European Union.
The move to allow third-party messaging inside WhatsApp is a result of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Inside the DMA is a raft of new laws that tech companies will have to bow to in order to continue operating inside the bloc.
One of these new laws mean tech apps, such as Meta-owned WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, are not allowed to be ‘gatekeeper services’.
So-called ‘gatekeeper services’ are apps that can only be used with other people with the same app.
Therefore, all apps inside the EU must be interoperable with other messengers to comply with new rules.
This applies to iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, and Signal – not just WhatsApp.
“There’s real tension between offering an easy way to offer this interoperability to third parties whilst at the same time preserving the WhatsApp privacy, security, and integrity bar,” Dick Brouwer, engineering director at WhatsApp, told Wired in February.
“I think we’re pretty happy with where we’ve landed.”
At the time, Brouwer emphasised the fact that the feature would be on an opt-in basis only, for fear it may become a “big source” of scams and spam.
Now it’s clear WhatsApp is making good on that promise.
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