WhatsApp reportedly adds cross-app messaging but there’s a catch

You could soon be able to use WhatsApp to message people who use other messaging platforms — but there’s a catch. And a big catch, at that.

Tech-site Android Police (via WABetaInfo) reported on Thursday that WhatsApp is beta-testing support for third-party messaging apps, but that it would eventually roll out to limited regions only.

The site noted that the reason behind the impending shift was because of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which often requires tech companies to follow stricter rules to operate on the continent. The DMA is the same law that led to tech giants Apple and Meta facing hundreds of millions of dollars in fines earlier this year.

WhatsApp’s cross-platform messaging is reportedly still quite limited, with the beta supporting only BirdyChat at the moment. But, eventually, folks in Europe could potentially message whomever via WhatsApp. As for the rest of us? We’re stuck in the past, at least for the time being.