Meta has said that WhatsApp is almost ready to send messages to third-party apps for EU-based users, revealing details about the upcoming update's new features and enhanced user experience.
The update will also impact Meta's Facebook-tied Messenger service and will add new options to the WhatsApp platform. These include the capability to place WhatsApp messages in the same inbox as third-party chats or keep them distinct. Among the other new features Meta is introducing are notifications that inform users about third-party conversations and reminders of a third-party app becoming available.
Meta also teased cross-platform voice and video calling within WhatsApp, which is planned for rollout in 2027.
Meta wrote in a blog post:
We’ve heard loud and clear from other messaging services that the option for users to connect with people using other apps should be clear and easy to find. As a result, we have built new notifications into WhatsApp and Messenger that inform users about third-party chats. We will remind users each time a new third-party messaging app becomes available."
WhatsApp has been working on a solution to enable third-party interoperability for the past two-and-a-half years, a process accelerated by the European Union's introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) earlier this year. The DMA enforces stricter regulations on designated messaging services, or digital "gatekeepers," to promote fair competition and openness across platforms.
Wryly, Meta ends its blog by inviting third-party messaging platforms to fulfil their end of the bargain in making their services compatible with WhatsApp and Messenger in turn: "We will keep collaborating with third-party messaging services in order to provide the safest and best experience. Users will start to see the third-party chat option when a third-party messaging service has built, tested and launched the necessary technology to make the feature a positive and secure user experience."
Meta hasn't yet provided a concrete release or rollout date for the WhatsApp and Messenger update.
More Specifics On The New UI And Features
Meta has spent the past six months since the DMA was passed developing the new features detailed above and enhancing the user experience.
In addition to the new user notifications about third-party chats, Meta outlines that it has created a fresh onboarding process that allows users to explore third-party chat integrations and activate the feature seamlessly. Meta says that users can select which third-party apps they wish to receive messages from and customise their inbox management preferences accordingly.
