Instant messaging platform WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has been working on adding third-party chats for some time now. It is being developed to comply with DMA regulations and traces of the functionality have been detected in previous beta versions of WhatsApp. Now you know, thanks to a new video, how it all works.
WhatsApp: video shows how third-party chats work
More details about third-party chat support on WhatsApp have emerged on the web, as the website TheSpAndroid claims to have partially enabled the function in the WhatsApp application. Therefore, they published a video showing how you can integrate third-party conversations, noting that the user interface is in line with previously available details.
According to the video, the option to activate third-party chats is present in the Accounts section of the application. When you activate the function, WhatsApp warns you that you are sending messages to someone on a third-party application, which “may use different end-to-end encryption” and “may handle your data differently than WhatsApp”.
WhatsApp will allow you to choose third-party applications during the integration process. Although WhatsApp doesn't share your name and profile photo, these third-party apps will have access to your phone number. “This allows people on third-party apps to contact you, including people you have blocked on WhatsApp,” according to a page shown in the video.
If you disable third-party chats in the app, you will no longer be able to send or receive messages and existing conversations will become read-only. That said, since the feature is in development, it may look different when it is released to the public in a future update.
Recently, WhatsApp's sister platform Threads released a demo of its integration with Fediverse. It is based on the ActivityPub protocol and allows users to follow Threads accounts from other platforms, such as Mastodon. WhatsApp is also working to improve its Favorites feature and the ability to set the default quality of multimedia content.