Today, March 6, marks six months since WhatsApp was labeled a gatekeeper. As a result, the openness obligations imposed by the European Commission begin and the application You should already have your basic interoperability ready.
Meta is needed to open WhatsApp to other apps, but other apps are not needed to add messaging support to WhatsApp. For the moment, no alternative to WhatsApp has expressed interest in taking advantage of interoperability Yes It’s also not entirely clear that it benefits them. So far, opening night has been a bit depressing.
WhatsApp opens the door
Meta hasn’t commented yet, but today he should be active on WhatsApp the first phase of interoperabilitythrough which other applications can “connect” to WhatsApp to write to their users (and, likewise, from WhatsApp we can continue the conversation).
We have followed the development of this WhatsApp interoperability in recent months and we already know that they will appear in a separate board from the rest of the discussions called Third Party Discussions. WhatsApp justifies this separation because, according to it, third-party chats will be a source of scams and spam.
This first phase will allow us to chat with users of other applications by sending messagestext messages, images, voice clips, videos and files in individual chats, since groups and video calls will move to the second and third phases, in 2025 and 2027, respectively.
Of course, it is important to remember that European users will be able to decide whether or not they allow the entry of messages from third parties. This interoperability will in all cases be optional..
Will anyone want to use this door?
One of the key elements of interoperability is that it does not come from nowhere: other applications will have to implement it and it doesn’t seem like it’s anything too simple. WhatsApp alternatives that connect to WhatsApp must offer an equivalent level of encryption and security to WhatsApp.
In an interview with Wired, Dick Brouwer, director of engineering at WhatsApp, clarified that ideally, these applications should also use the Signal encryption protocol and connect to WhatsApp servers to communicate with users. Today, it is the protocol used in Messenger, Instagram, Signal, Google Messages RCS and Skype. On launch day, as of now, no apps are supported.
On the right, the participants in the WhatsApp interoperability evening: no one
These apps do half the work of connecting to WhatsApp from a technical point of viewbut from a legal point of view, they must sign an agreement with Meta and respect its terms of use.
But the biggest doubt is If you want to connect WhatsApp to an alternative like Telegram. After all, these apps have been investing for some time in strategies to attract WhatsApp users and bring them to their apps, instead of adding chat with WhatsApp users for those who already own Telegram.
Telegram has gone so far in its attempt to attract WhatsApp users by making it easier to import message history.
In other words, opening WhatsApp improves the experience for those who are already users of other applications, but Seems counterproductive if you’re looking to steal WhatsApp users. As such, it remains to be seen whether many WhatsApp alternatives will bother to put in the considerable effort required to allow their users to message users of the app.
As we mentioned before, Signal, Google Messages and Skype are the ones that have the easiest job and haven’t moved yet. It is more, Even Meta does not seem to prepare options to write to WhatsApp from Instagram or Messenger, although we might see them later. The big question remains: will we see the main alternatives to WhatsApp benefit from interoperability or will everything remain in jeopardy?
Cover image | Generated with AI
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