WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms in India and around the world. A large population uses it as their primary messaging app. And to keep the customers from going away, WhatsApp keeps on bringing new and new features to its application. In a major shift, WhatsApp will soon allow users to send and receive messages from third-party platforms.
This comes after Meta, which owns WhatsApp, made this announcement last week. Just like a lot of moves that tech giants have had to make recently, this also matches the European Union’s Digital Markets Act 2022. Tech giants now have to make their services interoperable. And hence, WhatsApp had to come up with this.
Meta was not ready to make these changes straight up and has asked for an extension. The company has said that it had concerns with maintaining end-to-end encryption with third-party apps. Meta took an additional six months to ensure a smooth transition and to overcome the technicalities. Now, the feature is almost ready for users.
Further, Meta has reassured its WhatsApp users that despite this move, privacy and security will remain a priority for the company. In the future, Meta will also make similar integrations with its other messaging platforms. This includes Facebook Messenger.
Whenever this feature rolls out, WhatsApp will notify the users and then they will be prompted to change the app’s settings.
A new onboarding process will allow users to activate third-party chats, select which apps they want to connect with and decide how to organise their messages. Users will also be allowed to combine third-party chats with their main inbox or keep them in a separate folder.
The feature will initially roll out for users in European countries. Let’s see if Meta will bring it to users in India too.