Meta is making changes to WhatsApp and Messenger to add interoperability with third-party chat apps — in Europe, that is — and the company is sharing how it will work in a new post. Based on previous reports, Meta started working on enabling third-party chat last year after the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules came into effect.
Under the DMA, “gatekeepers” or the industry’s biggest companies and platforms must ensure interoperability with third parties because they are prohibited from favoring their own services.
The company said it gathered feedback from potential partners and other stakeholders to help shape the new experience. Initially, it designed new notifications for WhatsApp and Messenger that would alert users when a third-party service was available for integration.
Users will be able to choose which third-party apps they want to receive messages from, and they can choose to receive those messages in separate inboxes. Those who don’t mind receiving messages alongside their Messenger or WhatsApp chats can opt for a combined inbox instead.
The apps will also provide rich messaging features to third-party chats, so they won’t be just text-related. Users will be able to react to specific messages and reply directly, see an indicator when the other person is typing, and get read receipts. Next year, they’ll be able to create group chats, and in 2027, they can make voice and video calls to their friends on other apps.
Meta reported, “Users will start seeing the third-party chat option when the third-party messaging service has built, tested, and launched the technology needed to make this feature a positive and safe user experience,” so everyone’s favorite messaging app won’t be integrated with WhatsApp and Messenger. However, the company said it will continue to collaborate with other services to expand its availability.
The TikTok ban may have only lasted a few hours (at least for now), but Meta is still trying to take advantage of its rival’s weakened fortunes. Meta has launched a new “Breakthrough Bonus Program,” offering up to $5,000 to new creators on the company’s app.
According to Meta, the bonus program is open to U.S. adults who have “an existing presence on a third-party social app that you can link to or have already linked during the application process.” Participants will also be required to create a professional account on Instagram and a page on Facebook.
If accepted, creators will be able to earn up to $5,000 over a 90-day period in exchange for sharing “at least 20 Reels on Facebook and 10 Reels on Instagram originally posted in each app during each 30-day bonus period” and “on at least 10 different days during each 30-day bonus period.” (Meta notes that creators’ individual payments will be calculated based on “evaluating your social presence.”) Creators will also be able to participate in its “Facebook Content Monetization” program, which allows creators to earn money for text and photo posts in addition to video content.