True inclusivity: Soon, one could text WhatsApp users without having a WhatsApp account

It’s a major pain in the rear when you are dying to text someone and it turns out they don’t use the same messaging apps as you.

– I’ve got WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber. You?
– I’m on Signal, Messenger and Direct.
– Whoa, it’s been nice knowing you. Beat it!
– Yeah, same to you, buddy!

Instead of downloading and setting up a (yet another) new messaging app, it could be great to text your WhatsApp friends from your Signal. That’s the inclusivity we, as a society, should be after, right?

Well, WhatsApp is working on exactly that, apparently.

Enter interoperability!

The latest report from the always informative and highly useful WABetaInfo platform is about the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS (version 24.2.10.72) and the features it’s all about.

The latest one is a chat interoperability feature to comply with new EU regulations, and it will be available in a future update.

Interoperability stands for “the ability to work together with other systems or pieces of equipment”, as put by the Cambridge Dictionary. Applied to the mobile tech world, that means it enables cross-platform communication and data exchange between two different apps.

“Interoperability enables someone on a different messaging app, like Signal, to send messages to a WhatsApp user, even without a WhatsApp account”, the beta report reads. This facilitates more inclusive and diverse communication channels, enhancing the overall user experience. It’s important to mention that users will have to maintain control over this feature, as they are required to manually enable the interoperability service and have the option to opt out, as the EU regulations insist.

End-to-end encryption will have to be preserved in interoperable messaging systems, ensuring a good level of security for users engaged in cross-platform communication. After all, the idea is not just to connect the Capulets with the Montagues, but to prevent sudden tragedies like security breaches.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to regulate the behavior of large tech companies, particularly those considered “gatekeepers” – WhatsApp is counted as such – which have a significant impact on the digital market. One key aspect of the DMA is the requirement for these companies to enable users to communicate with each other using various apps.

Threads is testing something similar with Mastodon, as Zuckerberg explained not so long ago: “Starting a test where posts from Threads accounts will be available on Mastodon and other services that use the ActivityPub protocol. Making Threads interoperable will give people more choice over how they interact and it will help content reach more people. I'm pretty optimistic about this.”