WhatsApp will support third-party chat apps, but I don’t want any of that interoperability – here’s why I’m happy without it.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) law is about to change the tech landscape in ways that other markets can only dream of, or dread, depending on who you ask. Features like iPhone sideloading and chat app interoperability are coming in early March, but I won’t be touching them.
That’s right — I might be an EU citizen, but I don’t appreciate what legislators are trying to do with the DMA rules. They might think they’re opening the door to more competition with Big Tech and improving protections for end users. But they’re also complicating things unnecessarily in ways that might hurt the user.
I’ve repeatedly explained why I won’t use iPhone app sideloading the minute it’s available, though I don’t worry about it as much as I did. I worry even less about messaging app interoperability, as I’m certain I’ll never use those features either.
This isn’t about iMessage supporting RCS, the non-Google version of which Apple announced it will support. It’s about messaging services like iMessage working with competing products.
iMessage isn’t a gatekeeper, so Apple won’t open it to competitors. But Meta’s WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are. Meta will have to open them to competitors in March. But I know for certain that I won’t read your messages in WhatsApp unless they come from WhatsApp on your end. I’d rather get another chat app to talk to you if you don’t want to use WhatsApp.I prefer standalone chat apps
I might be a longtime iPhone user, but I use WhatsApp more than iMessage. Over here, we don’t have a blue vs. green bubbles problem. We never did. WhatsApp has always been one of the primary choices for talking to Android fans.
I also use it with some of my friends and family members who own iPhones, just as I rely on other platforms alongside WhatsApp for chatting with them. Yes, it can be complicated and messy. But it works.
WhatsApp is also the world’s most important chat app, with over 2 billion users. Hundreds of millions of people must already use it in Europe.
