Europe: WhatsApp opens for third-party apps | Hacker News Reader

Europe: WhatsApp opens for third-party apps

faq.whatsapp.com

45 pointsschnatterer17 comments

I wanted to try this, but it's not possible (yet?) for regular folks apparently.

Supposedly the two apps "BirdyChat" and "Hiket" are WA compatible. Both are waitlist only.

Even after searching for ~15 minutes, I could find no information about how to become such a compatible provider.

I hope this situation will improve drastically, but it also looks like Meta will do whatever they can to make it as hard and annoying as possible, as they don't want to lose market share. Disappointing.

> Even after searching for ~15 minutes, I could find no information about how to become such a compatible provider.

I think that info is here:

https://developers.facebook.com/m/messaging-interoperability...

Search terms: whatsapp dma program

Disclosure: I worked for WhatsApp until 2019, which included detecting 3rd party applications and blocking them when they didn't follow (unpublished) specifications.

Thanks for the link. For anyone interested, here's the process outlined in the document, I'm gonna try to apply and see where that leads.

# Steps to interoperate with Messenger or WhatsApp

Note: Separate documentation and applications are required for Messenger and/or WhatsApp

    Review: Review the Reference Offer, Developer Documentation Overview, and Application Guidelines above.
    Apply: If you believe you qualify, complete the form that’s linked in the Application Guidelines.
    Review: If you meet eligibility requirements, we will send you our detailed Developer Documentation under NDA for review of the detailed technical requirements for interoperating.
    Sign: If you can fulfill the relevant terms and technical requirements set out in the Reference Offer and want to request interoperability, sign the Interoperability Agreement that we will provide to you.
    Build: Start building interoperability.
    Enable: Complete the milestones outlined in the detailed Developer Documentation to enable interoperability.
    Launch: Work with Messenger and/or WhatsApp on a joint plan to launch interoperability.

Yeah Id love to officially link my matrix instance to it. But they have lots of red tape, and outrageous requirements like wanting to know the IP of every end user that is bridged.

Luckily the user bridge works pretty ok.

There are already a huge number of apps running on whatsapp in India for booking of cooking gas refill, car insurance renewal etc. Basically, user interaction is driven using chat until all inputs are captured. I think this is very effective as it requires familiarity with only one app.

Whatsapp as universal user interface.

Is this one of the instances where European regulations hurt businesses?

I doubt it. Both apps that are supported have nonexistent userbases in Europe.

This seems pretty big news?

Perhaps the start of instant messaging becoming more like email?

Start of facebook's malicious compliance.

https://delta.chat/en/

Is there something new here? Because it seems the same as the DMA compliance they had to do in early 2024?

See e.g.: WhatsApp Messaging Interoperability - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39633936 - Mar 2024 (146 comments)

It was discussed couple days ago as well

"WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46107109 - 01-dec-2025 - 88 comments

No, lol, WhatsApp remains in full control of user IDs. Maybe if they make WA federated, but we both know this is not gonna happen.

When I open the page all I see is:

> Chats with third-party apps are only available in select regions and may not be available to you.

Even the FAQ page is geo restricted. What a shitty attitude.

I'm in Europe and I see the same page. I don't think it's geoblocked.

oh, that's the answer :d

I'm in Europe and I see a lot more than that. Apologies for the ugly formatting, mobile:

As part of changing laws in Europe, Meta now offers the option for you to chat with others using third-party messaging apps that have integrated with WhatsApp and that you choose to turn on.

Note: Chats with third-party apps are only available in select regions and may not be available to you.

- You can send messages, photos, videos, voice messages, and documents to end users of supported messaging services that have integrated with WhatsApp.

- Messages or other content you send from WhatsApp to third-party users are encrypted in transit, and WhatsApp can’t see them.

- Third-party apps have their own policies and they might handle your data differently than WhatsApp.

## Eligibility requirements to turn on third-party chats with WhatsApp

- Third-party chats with WhatsApp are only available to users with a WhatsApp account registered to phone numbers in the regions covered by the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

- If you change your phone number to a number registered in a region not covered by the DMA, you won’t be able to use third-party chats on WhatsApp.

- Third-party chats are only available on WhatsApp for iPhone and Android. Third-party chats on WhatsApp are not currently accessible on tablets, web, or desktop.

If you’re eligible, learn how to use WhatsApp with third-party chats in this article (links to https://faq.whatsapp.com/818760060056834?helpref=faq_content)

## Your safety and third-party apps

We care about the safety of our global community when enabling chats with third-party apps. Visit our WhatsApp Privacy Policy for users in Europe for more information.

When you send a message to a third-party app, the phone number registered to your WhatsApp account is available to the third-party app you select. Other people who know your phone number can find and message you from third-party messaging services you've enabled.

Note: Users you’ve blocked on WhatsApp might be able to message you from third-party apps. Learn more about how to block someone in this article.

## Be mindful of the information you share

Before you chat with someone using third-party apps:

- Make sure you know the person you’re chatting with before sharing any personal information.

- Be aware that scams and spam might be more common when messaging with third-party apps.

- If you receive an unwanted message from a third-party chat, you can block the sender from messaging you from the third party.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com