Meta to Enable Third-Party Apps for WhatsApp and Messenger Calls by 2027

Meta has announced its compliance strategy with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will impact its popular messaging platforms, WhatsApp and Messenger.

As part of this compliance, Meta will introduce options for third-party messaging services to integrate with its apps. By 2027, users will be able to place voice and video calls via third-party apps on WhatsApp and Messenger.

In a recent blog post, Meta revealed that third-party integration will initially launch for messaging services. Users will receive notifications about available third-party apps and can choose to engage in chats either within a separate folder or combined with existing messages. As Meta builds toward full compliance with the DMA, features such as group chats with third-party apps will become available by 2025.

Meta also hinted at upcoming features like reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts for third-party messaging, ensuring a consistent user experience. Despite these advancements, Meta is still working through technical challenges, such as maintaining end-to-end encryption and securing agreements with other messaging platforms like Telegram and Viber.

The compliance plan follows earlier criticisms from the European Commission, which found Meta’s ad model non-compliant with other aspects of the DMA. Meta insists that it will continue collaborating with third-party services to provide a secure and user-friendly experience.