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Meta today isoffering more detailsabout how it contrive to make its messaging apps , WhatsApp and Messenger , interoperable with third - political party messaging serving , as required by the unexampled EU law , the Digital Markets Act ( DMA ) . The companyhad earlier sharedthat engage with third - party chats would be an opt - in experience for users , given that the newfangled integrations could be a source of junk e-mail and scams . It also said that third parties would have to sign an concord , but had n’t until today deal the inside information of what that would include . In add-on , Meta now says it will inquire third political party to use the Signal protocol , though it may make exception to this in the future .
Specifically , Meta says that it will only allow third - party developers to employ another protocol besides Signal , “ if they are able-bodied to demonstrate it offer the same security warrantee as Signal . ”
The companionship touts the benefits of the Signal communications protocol , which is used by both WhatsApp and Messenger for their encoding . Messenger is still rolling out E2EE ( terminate - to - end encryption ) by nonremittal , but WhatsApp has offer E2EE by default since 2016 . Because Signal represents the “ current golden standard ” for E2EE chats , Meta says it would “ prefer ” that third party also use the same protocol .
The company also outlines the high - level technological details as to how this encryption would turn , which involves the third - company retrace substance protobuf ( Protocol Buffers ) structures — a series of key - time value duad — which are encrypted using Signal , then packaged into message stanzas ( a pushing mechanism ) using XML . Meta ’s servers , meanwhile , will push messages to any join clients using a dogged connective .
The third party who link with Meta will be responsible for host any simulacrum or picture files their client apps place to Meta ’s users . Meta ’s message guest will download the encrypted metier from the third - party message host using a Meta proxy equipment , it notes .
These detail are significant because Meta ’s messaging app substance abuser , particularly WhatsApp users , who have had E2EE on by default for years , want to have it off that their conversations will persist secure , despite the DMA ’s changes .
However , Meta hedgerow on this a bit by saying that , although it has build a untroubled solution using the Signal communications protocol to protect messages in transit , it ca n’t guarantee “ what a third - party supplier does with place or received messages . ” This advise that Meta may utilize an disceptation that third - party messaging interoperability is potentially less impregnable as a means of keeping its user engaged only with Meta ’s message services .
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The company blog post also explains that the solution , which builds on Meta ’s existing client / server architecture , is the best , as it would lower the barriers for Modern entrants to participate . But this set up up Meta as the one making the rules and deciding how interop will work , of course of study . Meta notes that doing it this fashion will meliorate dependableness , as Meta ’s substructure has already been scale to treat over 100 billion messages day by day . Still , the company says there may be an approaching that would take out the necessity that third parties implement WhatsApp ’s guest - to - waiter communications protocol , by adding a procurator between their client and the WhatsApp server instead . But that solvent will involve third parties to agree to extra protections to keep Meta ’s drug user dependable from spam and cozenage .
In addition , Meta says that third - political party provider will involve to bless an agreement with Meta or WhatsApp before it will enable interoperability . It ’s publishing WhatsApp ’s Reference Offer for third - company providers today and will shortly publish the Reference Offer for Messenger , as well .
WhatsApp is preparing to roll out third - political party Old World chat funding
Signal ’s Meredith Whittaker disdain anti - encryption crusade as ‘ insular , magical thinking ’
Why Signal ‘ turned our computer architecture inside out ’ for its latest privacy lineament
