Meta’s ambitions are rising, and its intentions for integrating third-party services have been crystal clear.

The American multinational company claims to have exceeded basic interoperable messaging features, providing advanced messaging capabilities such as reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts. Under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Meta must ensure that WhatsApp and Messenger are compatible with third-party apps like iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, Signal, and others.

But there’s a catch.

Companies seeking to integrate with WhatsApp and Messenger will need to use the same Signal Protocol to maintain privacy. As per a copy of the agreement that third-party apps must sign, Meta will provide the Signal Protocol to partners upon request.

The tech giant has been working on integrating third-party chats for a while. Users in the EU will soon have the option to either unify their WhatsApp and Messenger messages into a single inbox or keep them separate. Additionally, users can expect support for third-party video and voice calls in 2027.