Exciting news! Can't wait for iMessage to open up too. Any idea if this (or other future messengers) will work outside of Europe too or does WhatsApp use some kind of geofencing, like Apple, to prevent non-EU citizens from enjoying the same rights too?

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thevillagechief 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

iMessage will not be opening up. They lobbied hard in the EU and got an exemption for not being popular enough there I guess.

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nozzlegear 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Did they lobby for an exemption, or is that just how the law is written?

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bsimpson 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The DMA is enforced by bureaucracy. The commission proposes that certain platforms are big enough to be regulated, and then there's a comment period/negotiation. The list of platforms currently being regulated is publicly available.

	▲	bootsmann 9 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		There is a hard number of users you have to achieve, its one of the reasons why iOS had to allow third party app stores but playstation did not.
	▲	arter45 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		In fact, Apple is still part of the DMA list with Safari, iOS, iPad OS and App Store.

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drcongo 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I might be misremembering, but I think iMessage implementing RCS was the compromise.

	▲	hocuspocus 5 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Unlikely, iOS still doesn't support RCS in most European countries.
	▲	jeroenhd 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		iMessage isn't popular enough in Europe to be broken up by the DMA from what I recall.

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Hamuko 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

iMessage really isn't popular in Europe. Although the fact that any SMS sent between two iPhones automatically converts into an iMessage message means that there are definitely (accidental) users.

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TZubiri 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

But iMessage is already open? You can send an SMS to any number and it shows in iMessage, completely interoperable through that standard protocol.

Whatsapp on the other hand does not show SMS messages (Which is a design choice that makes sense from a security perspective I guess, not saying it's wrong.)

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kelnos 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

You're confusing two different things, though I don't blame you for it, as it is confusing. "iMessage" is the OTT E2E-encrypted chat protocol. "Messages" note the lack of the leading "i" and trailing "s") is an iOS app that lets you send and receive messages using both the iMessage and SMS/MMS/RCS protocols.

iMessage is not open, and Apple fights efforts by other companies (e.g. Beeper) to interoperate with it.

	▲	TZubiri 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Ok then, Apple's Messages is interoperable, as you can communicate via SMS with its users.

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cheema33 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> But iMessage is already open?

How do you send/receive messages from a Windows system? My guess is that you think iMessage is SMS-only.

	▲	TZubiri 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		>How do you send/receive messages from a Windows system? You can send an SMS. >My guess is that you think iMessage is SMS-only No, there's Apple's proprietary protocol, that you can only use on Apple devices. But from non Apple devices you can use the standard SMS.

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nottorp 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> You can send an SMS to any number

Can you send a photo?

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blell 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes, through MMS or RCS.

	▲	hocuspocus 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		So, no. MMS is increasingly being discontinued in several regions, and RCS support is extremely patchy worldwide, especially on iOS.