WhatsApp lets users send texts to iMessage or signal users, but there’s one condition: What we know

WhatsApp is preparing the platform to allow cross-platform messaging, which is a big move for the company. Meta’s messaging app is being forced, like Apple, to comply with European Union (EU) rules, with new rules set to take effect in March 2024. This means WhatsApp will have to allow users of other messaging apps to send and receive chats from its app.

The support will be limited to the EU region, but it will be exciting to see WhatsApp users being able to chat with Telegram or Signal users. However, as WhatsApp’s director of engineering explained this week, these changes and third-party app support will only be possible if they decide to agree to one of Meta’s major conditions.

He mentioned that WhatsApp will allow cross-platform messaging, including text, images, voice notes, and even files from one app to another. But Dick Brouwer told Wired that WhatsApp wants all messaging services that support its platform to use the same Signal protocol that provides encryption for messages.

That being said, WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, is willing to use different encryption protocols, but they must meet security standards that WhatsApp deems sufficient to support it. So, assuming WhatsApp gets its wish and opens up its platform to work with other apps, how will it look to its users? With these changes will WhatsApp only cater to EU customers? Brouwer noted that once messages from other apps come into WhatsApp, they will be seen in a new section/tab on the WhatsApp home screen.

The messaging app has yet to make it clear whether the cross-platform feature will be available to all users, even in India, but looking at the timing, it would be surprising if the Meta-owned app decides to roll out the feature more widely. Coming soon.