A WhatsApp for Android beta replace (model 2.23.19.8) that got here out right this moment comprises a brand new display screen known as Third-party chats, stories WABetaInfo. For now, the display screen is neither practical nor accessible by customers, in response to WABetaInfo. However its title is a robust clue that that is possible step one to opening Meta’s encrypted messages app to cross-platform compatibility.
The beta comes simply days after the European Commission confirmed that WhatsApp proprietor Meta meets the definition of a “gatekeeper” beneath the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires communication software program like WhatsApp to interoperate with third-party messaging apps by March 2024. WABetaInfo tweeted a screenshot of the display screen:
The DMA’s objective, per the European Fee’s FAQ about the law, is to maintain gatekeepers “from imposing unfair situations” and to “make sure the openness of vital digital providers.” Past dictating that messaging apps should interoperate, the DMA requires that gatekeepers, amongst different issues, let customers take away pre-installed apps or store various app shops.
Each Meta and Microsoft are planning their own mobile app stores in response to the DMA. The European Fee is investigating whether or not Apple’s iMessage and Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Edge browser, and promoting service meet the bar for the brand new regulation.