Thanks to the European Union's Digital Markets Act, Meta has been forced to make WhatsApp and Messenger connect with third-party messaging apps so their respective users can chat with each other. Meta has now shared some screenshots of the feature and what people will be able to expect from it.
The social media giant said that the new functionality will be available to people in Europe who want to connect with friends on other platforms. While the company hasn't said it will expand further, its Threads platform is part of the Fediverse of social networks so maybe the company is shifting its thinking to work with other platforms, maybe we could see third-party chats roll out globally at some point, rather than just in the EU.
Meta says that WhatsApp and Messenger users in Europe will be notified soon about third-party chats. The company says it has built a simple onboarding flow for users where they can learn about the feature and turn it on. Users will be able to choose which third-party apps they want to get messages from, and how they want to manage their inbox.
There will be an option to receive your third-party chats within the main chat list on Messenger and WhatsApp and there will be an option to keep them separate to help avoid confusion. This setting can be changed at any time if you find one or the other to be more convenient.
Finally, Meta has confirmed that third-party chats will support rich messaging features, which is more than is required by the DMA. These rich features include reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts. Furthermore, Meta is planning to let you create groups for third-party chats next year and in 2027 it will add voice and video calling functionality.
Meta said that it will continue working with third-party messaging services to ensure chats are safe. Users will start to see the third-party chat option once "a third-party messaging service has built, tested, and launched the necessary technology to make the feature a positive and secure user experience."
Source: Meta
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