The European Union has recently reached an agreement on a significant competition reform known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will impose strict rules on large tech companies that will have to offer users the ability to communicate with each other using different apps. WhatsApp is one of the companies that will be required to comply with the new regulations outlined in the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. This is because WhatsApp is considered a gatekeeper service since it’s a large tech platform with a substantial user base and falls within the criteria set by the DMA. With the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.19.8 update, which is available on the Google Play Store, we discovered that WhatsApp is working on complying with the new regulations:
As you can see in this screenshot, WhatsApp is working on a new section dedicated to the new regulations. Since it is still in development, this section is still not ready, it appears empty and it’s not accessible to users, but its title confirms to us that they are now working on it. WhatsApp has a 6-month period to align the app with the new European regulations to provide its interoperability service in the European Union. At the moment, it remains unclear whether this feature will also eventually extend to countries beyond the European Union.
Interoperability will allow other people to contact users on WhatsApp even if they don’t have a WhatsApp account. For example, someone from the Signal app could send a message to a WhatsApp user, even without a WhatsApp account. While this broader network can definitely enhance communication with those people who use different messaging apps and assist those small apps in competing within the messaging app industry, we acknowledge that this approach may also raise important considerations about end-to-end encryption when receiving a message from users who don’t use WhatsApp. In this context, as this feature is still in its early stages of development, detailed technical information about this process on WhatsApp as a gatekeeper is currently very limited, but we can confirm that end-to-end encryption will have to be preserved in interoperable messaging systems. In addition, as mentioned in Article 7 of the regulations, it appears that users may have the option to opt out when it will be available in the future.
Third-party chat support is under development and it will be available in a future update of the app. As always, we will share a new article when we have further information regarding this feature.
The problem you raise is real, but also avoidable. Nobody forces you to actually communicate via signal with people on WhatsApp. In fact, if you do have people on WhatsApp you want to talk to, you already have an account on WhatsApp and you can keep using that. However, some people might appreciate the possibility to have this bridged communication, especially because it allows for much easier migration to signal (and similar) from people who “everyone is on WhatsApp”. The more people move over, the more signal-to-signal communication can happen, etc.
Ultimately it is exactly like email. I think it’s still worth using proton, even though 80% of your emails will be coming from or going to a gmail account.
The crux is having the ability to:
Once you can choose, hardcore privacy people can keep talking only between signal users, but the interoperability can help more people moving over in the meanwhile.
This would be a lovely thing if signal also enables the interoperability.
I can’t remember where I’ve seen it, probably on the signal community forum, but I don’t believe signal have any plans to integrate the interoperability stuff; specifically because they can’t guarantee their users won’t have metadata collected by third parties like Meta.
It would be nice if they did offer a build flag or a disabled by default option in the advanced options though. It is still far better than using WhatsApp’s app. Because here, right now, nobody uses Signal but WhatsApp.
Well, I am assuming interoperability actually works, if it’s only done from one side, it’s not really interoperability. As a signal user I would be perfectly fine with an opt-in flag (which Iwouldn’t use). But yeah, you are right.
the moment some whatsapper is sending a message my way meta knows my phone number and the connection to the user. i’m not sure if i can stop this the moment the “feature” drops and most ppl would be ignorant to it in the first place. it’s just another attack on privacy in favour of “convenience”.
It could be an opt-in thing, with several warnings so people don’t accidentally turn it on without knowing its consequences. + When turned on, WhatsApp users could have a WhatsApp logo by their name in Signal.
it’s eu, so i don’t even think there will be an opt-out.
Signal won’t be forced as they aren’t deemed as gatekeepers.
Meta knows that a valid number exists, and at most that your number is a part of that social circle. It doesn’t know anything about you just yet. If the association between public number and person is public, your problem is beyond whatsapp, of course. Also, I give you a bad news, but all meta applications request access to contacts. If your contact has your number (to contact you), meta already has your number, possibly very conveniently associated with your name, as this is out of your control.
I think interoperability is a net positive, even privacy wise. Mostly because if we level the playing field and remove the network effect, people who care a little might as well use “better” apps, where “better” stops being “all my friends are there”.
that might be, but just being into someones phone book is not giving away much, the pattern starts to get interesting when they can track who is actually making contact, when, in what application and so on. that’s the meta data goldmine.
The point is that if you can refuse to communicate with WhatsApp users, they have no more data compared to when your interlocutor simply added your phone to their contact list. They only have more data if you actually carry out conversations, which you are not forced to do.