Overview
- Selected testers on iOS and Android can enable a new Third‑Party Chats setting to exchange messages with an external app.
- The initial rollout supports only one‑to‑one conversations with text, images, videos, voice notes and files, with group chats and calls planned later.
- Early access offers delivery to a separate inbox or the main inbox, and the feature remains opt‑in for participants.
- BirdyChat is the first interoperable partner, while other apps must build an integration layer and pass WhatsApp’s privacy and encryption checks.
- Signal and Threema say they will not participate due to data‑protection concerns, and WhatsApp notes it may collect IP‑based location and other metadata from third‑party users though not message content.