WhatsApp has a striking new feature: you can now also send messages to users of other chat apps, and vice versa. But… don’t get excited yet, because there’s not much you can do with it in practice yet.
New European regulations require WhatsApp to make its core features “interoperable.” This means European WhatsApp users must be able to exchange messages with other messaging services. This makes it possible to have conversations with people using a different chat app.
For now, support is still limited. Currently, only BirdyChat is officially connected—an app you’re probably not familiar with, and one that’s still in an experimental stage. Meta says it will add more chat services in the future. Which apps will actually connect remains to be seen.
Here you activate external chats in WhatsApp
Institutions
Open WhatsApp’s Settings via the gear icon in the bottom right corner. “External Chats” will now be prominently displayed – tap it.
Alternatively, you can go to ‘Settings > Accounts > External Chats’ to get to the same place.
How external chats work
Tap “Enable.” The screen above will give you more background information about how external chats work. Tap “Continue.”
Choose apps
Now you can check the apps you want to be able to communicate with. Currently, only BirdyChat is available (if it’s on your iPhone, that is). Tap “Next.”
Combine or not
Here you can choose how you want to receive messages. Should WhatsApp and other messages be mixed? Or separated? Click “Next.”
So what then? We’ll have to wait and see for now, because BirdyChat is still in its infancy. As soon as new chat apps are added, you’ll simply activate them using the same method. That way, you’ll be ready to chat with anyone, regardless of the app they use.