WhatsApp is working on cross-platform messaging

A new WhatsApp Android beta update (version 2.23.19.8) released today contains a new screen called Third-party chats. Reported by WABetaInfo, the title suggests that Meta might be working on encrypted messages across cross-platforms.

The Beta update was released just days after the European Commission confirmed WhatsApp owner Meta meets the definition of a “gatekeeper” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and will be required to interoperate with third-party messaging apps by March 2024.

The law is aimed at keeping gatekeepers “from imposing unfair conditions” and to “ensure the openness of important digital services.” The apps will have to allow their users to remove pre-installed apps or shop alternative app stores.

Read: Meta is developing a new, more powerful AI system, Wall Street Journal reports

Meta and Microsoft are planning on launching their own mobile app stores in response to the DMA by the European Commission.