WhatsApp enables third-party messaging in Europe under DMA compliance

WhatsApp users across Europe can now exchange messages with people using third-party messaging apps, marking a significant development in Meta's compliance with the European Union's Digital Markets Act. The feature, announced November 14, allows communication with users of messaging services BirdyChat and Haiket while maintaining end-to-end encryption standards.

The third-party chats capability represents the culmination of more than three years of technical development and negotiations between Meta, European messaging services, and the European Commission. Users in the European Region who opt into the experience can share messages, images, voice messages, videos and files across platforms through both Android and iOS devices.

According to Meta's announcement, the functionality to create groups with third-party users will become available once partner services are ready to support this feature. The company emphasized that connecting with people on other messaging apps remains optional, with users able to turn third-party chats on or off at any time through WhatsApp settings.

The Digital Markets Act, which became legally binding for designated gatekeepers in March 2024, requires Meta to give people using WhatsApp in Europe the option to connect with people using third-party messaging services that have chosen to make their apps interoperable. The regulation designates Meta as a gatekeeper in digital markets due to WhatsApp's position as the world's most popular messaging application, with 3 billion monthly active users as of May 2025.

Meta's implementation follows three core principles established during the development process. First, the feature remains entirely optional for WhatsApp users, who can disable third-party chats through their settings. Second, the technical infrastructure maintains end-to-end encryption and other privacy guarantees in Meta's services as far as possible. Third, availability is limited to the European Region in accordance with DMA requirements.

The announcement follows successful small-scale testing over recent months with BirdyChat and Haiket. These initial partners represent the first third-party services to implement messaging interoperability with WhatsApp under the new framework. Meta stated it will continue working with the European Commission and future partners to expand the feature's capabilities.

For WhatsApp users in Europe, the experience begins with a notification appearing in the Settings tab explaining how to opt into connections with people on third-party apps. The onboarding process provides information about the main differences between chats on WhatsApp and third-party chats, ensuring users understand the technical implications of cross-platform messaging.

The technical implementation required substantial infrastructure development to preserve WhatsApp's security architecture while enabling external connections. According to Meta's engineering documentation, third-party messaging apps must use the same level of end-to-end encryption as WhatsApp to meet DMA requirements. This ensures that messages exchanged between platforms maintain the privacy protections users expect from encrypted communications.

The feature arrives amid ongoing tensions between Meta and European regulators over Digital Markets Act compliance. In July 2025, Meta formally appealed the European Commission's decision regarding the company's offering in Europe, arguing that requirements to provide less personalized advertising without compensation ignored established court precedent. The Commission had ruled in April that Meta's choice between an ad-free subscription and free, ad-supported service did not comply with DMA requirements.

Meta also faced €200 million in fines in April 2025 for breaching DMA obligations related to consumer choice, specifically concerning the company's approach to personal data usage in advertising. The enforcement actions demonstrated the European Union's commitment to implementing the regulation despite resistance from designated gatekeepers.

The Digital Markets Act introduced the concept of gatekeepers as digital platforms wielding significant market power and acting as crucial gateways between businesses and consumers. Six major tech companies received this designation from the European Commission: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft. These companies must comply with stringent obligations designed to prevent self-preferencing, promote interoperability, and enable fairer competition in digital markets.

For messaging interoperability specifically, the regulation aims to prevent users from feeling locked into a single messaging app and promotes greater freedom to communicate with contacts on different platforms. WhatsApp had previously announced plans for cross-platform messaging in March 2024, indicating that European users would gain the option to send messages from WhatsApp to other supported third-party apps.

The implementation differs significantly from WhatsApp's standard messaging experience. While all WhatsApp conversations use the Signal Protocol for end-to-end encryption, third-party chats must meet equivalent security standards through their own technical implementations. This creates potential variations in user experience depending on which third-party service initiates or receives messages.

Meta emphasized in its announcement that WhatsApp cannot read or access the content of encrypted messages, whether sent within WhatsApp or to third-party services that meet the encryption requirements. This commitment extends to the new interoperability features, with the technical architecture designed to maintain privacy protections across platform boundaries.

The rollout represents a fundamental shift in how closed messaging ecosystems operate within European markets. Historically, messaging applications maintained exclusive user bases with no ability to communicate across platforms. Users needed separate accounts on multiple services to reach contacts who preferred different messaging apps. The DMA's interoperability requirements challenge this model by mandating technical bridges between competing services.

For marketing and business messaging, the implications remain unclear. WhatsApp Business, which launched in January 2018 for small business use, currently operates within WhatsApp's controlled environment. Meta has continued expanding business messaging features, including marketing message optimizations, AI support capabilities, and enhanced customer service tools. Whether third-party interoperability extends to business accounts or remains limited to personal messaging has not been specified in Meta's announcement.

The feature arrives as WhatsApp maintains its position as the dominant messaging platform in most European markets. Israel represents one of WhatsApp's strongest markets with 92% smartphone installation rates and 86% daily usage as of 2013. India, while outside the European Region, constitutes WhatsApp's largest market with over 200 million monthly active users as of February 2017. European usage patterns similarly demonstrate heavy reliance on WhatsApp for personal and professional communications.

The technical architecture required to enable cross-platform messaging while preserving encryption represents a significant engineering challenge. Unlike simple message forwarding between services, true interoperability requires protocol compatibility, security key exchange mechanisms, and metadata handling that protects user privacy across organizational boundaries. Meta's solution involved developing standards that third-party services must implement to achieve WhatsApp compatibility.

BirdyChat and Haiket, the initial partner services, underwent extensive testing to validate their implementations meet WhatsApp's security and privacy requirements. The small-scale testing phase allowed Meta and the European Commission to identify potential issues before broader rollout. Additional messaging services seeking interoperability with WhatsApp will need to complete similar validation processes.

The notification system Meta deployed alerts European users to the availability of third-party chats without forcing adoption. This opt-in approach contrasts with mandatory feature changes, giving users control over whether to enable cross-platform messaging. Users who decline can continue using WhatsApp exclusively without any functionality changes.

Meta stated it will provide updates on progress as additional features roll out and interoperability offerings expand as required by the DMA. This suggests the current implementation represents an initial phase, with enhanced capabilities planned for future releases. Group chat functionality with third-party users, mentioned as forthcoming once partners are ready, represents one such enhancement.

The Digital Markets Act's interoperability requirements extend beyond messaging to encompass various digital services. The regulation aims to create a more equitable digital landscape where consumers benefit from greater choice and reduced platform dependence. For messaging specifically, this manifests in the ability to maintain a single primary messaging app while still communicating with contacts who prefer alternative services.

Timeline

• November 2022: Digital Markets Act enters into force in the European Union
• May 2023: European Commission designates six major tech companies as gatekeepers under DMA
• March 2024: WhatsApp announces plans to allow cross-platform messaging with third-party apps in Europe
• March 2024: DMA obligations become legally binding for designated gatekeepers
• April 2025: European Commission fines Meta €200 million for DMA violations regarding consumer choice
• July 2025: Meta formally appeals European Commission decision on DMA compliance
• November 14, 2025: WhatsApp launches third-party chats with BirdyChat and Haiket in Europe

Summary

Who: Meta's WhatsApp messaging service, European users in the European Region, and third-party messaging apps BirdyChat and Haiket are involved in the interoperability implementation.

What: WhatsApp enabled third-party messaging interoperability allowing European users to exchange messages, images, voice messages, videos and files with users of compatible third-party messaging services while maintaining end-to-end encryption standards.

When: Meta announced the feature on November 14, 2025, following more than three years of development and small-scale testing, with rollout continuing across Europe over the coming months.

Where: The feature is available exclusively to WhatsApp users in the European Region as required by the Digital Markets Act, which applies to the European Union's 27 member countries and European Economic Area.

Why: The European Union's Digital Markets Act mandates that designated gatekeeper platforms like WhatsApp must provide interoperability options to prevent users from being locked into single messaging apps and to promote fairer competition in digital markets.