Whatsapp Works on ‘Chat Interoperability’ to Meet New EU Regulatory Demands

Not sure what is chat interoperability? Connectivity and communication are essential aspects of the digital age we live in. Since the takeover of technology in this decade, innovations have improved various areas of life, including communication, education, business, and so on. Back then, mail functioned as a source of communication, but its slow and less efficient operation opened the way for modern techniques. 

Online messaging and communication channels have dominated the digital landscape. Video chatting with your loved ones has never been so easy as of today, thanks to social media and online apps. WhatsApp is an excellent and most popular messaging platform accessible worldwide with myriads of active users. 

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta owns WhatsApp alongside other important social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and more. WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption on chats, restricting the cross-platform functionality of the app. With its impressive consumers in Europe, the European Union (EU) has demanded WhatsApp to introduce chat interoperability to provide users with further convenience and facilities. 

Related: UK Urges Meta Not to Roll Out End-To-End Encryption on Messenger and Instagram

WhatsApp’s Chat Interoperability Feature

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WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users. But how much do you know about its privacy features? WhatsApp has a number of privacy features that can help you protect your personal information. For example, you can choose who can see your profile photo, last seen status, and online status. You can also create groups with specific permissions, so that only certain people can see the messages that are sent. In addition, WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption, which means that your messages are protected from prying eyes. This means that even if someone intercepts your messages, they will not be able to read them. #whatsappprivacy #whatsappsecurity #dataprotection #cybersecurity #hacking

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WhatsApp’s fame and popularity is top-notch in every part of the world. According to statistics, WhatsApp has over 2.78 billion unique active users globally in June 2023. This report reflects the immense use of WhatsApp globally, making it the best messaging platform in the world. 

The EU has put forward a demand before Meta to offer an update in its existing WhatsApp app for Android, allowing users to enjoy cross-platform messaging and communication. As per the EU regulations, WhatsApp has to develop the feature by March 2024 to regain its gatekeeper status as per the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

WhatsApp has a beta programme, officially known as WABetaInfo, which hinted on the X platform that the feature will soon be launched in Europe. The Beta users can experience the highlight of the chat interoperability feature in WhatsApp, but it doesn’t work yet. Since the feature will be developed shortly, it will be accessible in the coming updates of the app. With this feature, users can send or receive messages and calls from third-party apps like Signal or others. 

EU’s Digital Markets Act – Overview

The EU’s DMA is a way to ensure innovations and a dynamic marketplace in European countries. This act is a source for keeping the flow of new software solutions to tackle new problems for tech users. It is the best way to keep a balance between massive tech companies and users while allowing room for new companies to experiment with their products and services in the European marketplace. 

Furthermore, software companies need to facilitate users in the transition from the default app to alternatives. The DMA also mandates that businesses provide details about their algorithms and that they treat customers equally. The main goal of the DMA is to stop tech giants from using gatekeeping practices that provide their smaller rivals an unfair advantage.

While some companies or platforms have gatekeeping rights, providing them the authority to restrict access to their markets and prevent competitors from entering. Gatekeeping contributes to high competitiveness, offering detrimental impacts to users. With a mission to facilitate open markets and healthy innovation in the digital space, the DMA is an excellent regulation of the EU.

Latest WhatsApp Features

WhatsApp is in a constant effort to remain the market giant and online messaging leader by releasing new updates with a focus on improving the platform. It is due to this reason that it has been a leading social media platform for a long time. Its competitors don’t even come closer to its user count despite being credible apps, such as Telegram and Signal. 

The developing chat interoperability feature will provide an edge to WhatsApp competitors in terms of usage since their users can contact or communicate with users on WhatsApp and vice versa. Users, on the other hand, will not have to download other applications for communication with users of other platforms. 

Let’s recap the latest features that WhatsApp released for users globally. 

Read Also: Privacy Matters as Meta Allowing Users to Take Control of Own Privacy on Instagram

1. Dual Account Login

This October, WhatsApp rolled out a new feature globally that allows users to log into two different accounts on a single app. It is the most exciting and anticipated functionality for WhatsApp users since it is challenging to log in and out whenever you need to use a different number. 

It is also difficult to keep two smartphones for using different numbers. Though the WhatsApp Business app is a better option for using another number, it is still a breakthrough for WhatsApp. You can click here to explore this feature and the method of utilising it. 

2. Robust User Privacy

WhatsApp is a secure social platform as it includes end-to-end encryption of your chats. This feature doesn’t allow perpetrators to access your data. Despite this secure operation, WhatsApp introduced a safety feature which protects the Internet Protocol (IP) address tracking of users on WhatsApp. It will strengthen WhatsApp protection, mitigating the possibility of IP address tracking and eavesdropping on calls. 

3. WhatsApp Channels

In a recent update, WhatsApp changed the “Status” tab to “Updates” by introducing WhatsApp channels. WhatsApp channel is like a Facebook page where the creator can share content, and the channel’s followers can view and react to the content. 

WhatsApp channels are exciting for some users and creators since they are easy to manage, while others find them a silly feature. You can read more about the WhatsApp channel by clicking here. 

Concluding Statements

WhatsApp is the best online communication platform for users across the globe. It has to introduce a new feature which allows the integration of third-party services in the WhatsApp app under the EU’s DMA regulation. This feature will be limited to Europe, which may later extend globally. Meta’s WhatsApp has to release the feature before March 2024.