Unified standards for digital services
In 2025, new regulations governing the activities of major digital companies came into force across the European Union. One key requirement is that companies must enable interoperability between different messaging platforms. This initiative aims to reduce monopolistic power and create a level playing field for all market participants. The first wave of changes targeted popular apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and iMessage.
The first steps toward integration
Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp, was one of the first to introduce technical solutions allowing European users to send and receive messages with other compatible platforms. At this initial stage, support covers text messages, images, voice notes, videos, and files in individual chats. The next phase aims to expand functionality by adding support for group chats as well as voice and video calls. Full adoption of the new standards is expected to be completed by 2027.
Technical features and security
To maintain a high level of data protection, Meta uses the Signal protocol, which is already employed by WhatsApp for encrypted messaging. All third-party services wishing to connect to the system must coordinate technical details and ensure their protocols meet security requirements. There is also a mechanism for preliminary screening and ongoing monitoring to eliminate privacy risks for users.
Changes to the interface and user experience
Despite introducing new features, WhatsApp will not merge all chats into a single feed. Messages coming from other apps will appear in a separate section, with no integration into the main notifications and without full synchronization. This approach allows the company to comply with the law without changing the familiar interface and logic of the service for most users.
Questions and prospects for development
It is still unclear which third-party platforms will take advantage of the opportunity to integrate with WhatsApp. The law requires Meta to open access, but does not force other companies to connect to the system. So far, neither Telegram, Signal, nor other key players have announced plans for implementing compatibility. In practice, the new feature remains a potential opportunity, rather than a widespread phenomenonβfor now.
Impact on the market and users
The introduction of mandatory compatibility between messengers could disrupt the established structure of the digital communications market. For users, this opens up new ways to connect, while for companies, it presents additional challenges in terms of security and technical implementation. In the coming years, it will become clear how much demand there is for this initiative and how quickly other services will embrace it.
