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Digital Markets Act (DMA) Compliance | Unipile
EU Regulation

Navigate the Digital Markets Act with Confidence

The DMA opens new opportunities for messaging interoperability in Europe. Unipile helps you leverage these changes to build seamless communication experiences across WhatsApp, Messenger, LinkedIn, and more.

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DMA Gatekeepers

Designated messaging services
WhatsApp WhatsApp
Messenger Messenger
Instagram Instagram
TikTok TikTok
LinkedIn LinkedIn
+15 more
Interoperability Active
Since March 2024
Understanding the DMA

What is the Digital Markets Act?

The European Union's landmark regulation ensuring fair competition and open digital markets, with significant implications for messaging services.

Key Objectives

The DMA targets large digital platforms ("gatekeepers") to ensure fair competition and prevent anti-competitive practices in the digital market.

  • Interoperability – Messaging platforms must allow third-party services to communicate with their users
  • Data portability – Users can export their data and switch services more easily
  • Fair competition – Prevents self-preferencing and combines user data restrictions
  • User choice – End users can uninstall pre-installed apps and choose alternatives

Designated Gatekeepers

WhatsApp
WhatsApp
N-IICS (Messaging)
Meta
Messenger
Messenger
N-IICS (Messaging)
Meta
Instagram
Instagram
Social Network
Meta
TikTok
TikTok
Social Network
ByteDance
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Social Network
Microsoft
Rules & Regulations

What Gatekeepers Must Do

The DMA establishes clear obligations — a list of "do's" and "don'ts" — that designated gatekeepers must follow in their daily operations.

Gatekeepers must

Allow third parties to inter-operate with their services in specific situations

Give business users access to data generated on their platform

Provide advertisers with tools for independent verification

Allow business users to contract with customers outside the platform

Gatekeepers must not

Favor their own services over third parties in ranking

Prevent consumers from linking to businesses outside their platform

Block users from uninstalling pre-installed apps

Track users outside their platform without consent

Your Rights

Benefits for Users & Businesses

The DMA empowers both consumers and businesses with new rights and opportunities in the European digital landscape.

Consumer Rights

Choice of Digital Services

Install apps from alternative stores and easily choose your browser and search engine.

Data Ownership

Control how companies use your data across services and for advertising.

Seamless Data Portability

Transfer your data to the platform of your choice with true digital mobility.

Business Rights

Interoperability

Develop services for users on designated OS. Gatekeepers must allow interoperability free of charge.

Fair Ranking

BigTech platforms can no longer unfairly promote their own products above yours.

Effective Access to Data

Access performance metrics and user behavior data generated by your services in real-time.

New Opportunities

Messaging Interoperability

The DMA mandates that designated messaging platforms enable third-party services to communicate with their users, creating unprecedented opportunities for developers.

Cross-Platform Messaging

Users can now send messages, images, videos, and voice messages between different messaging platforms while maintaining end-to-end encryption.

End-to-End Encryption

Third-party services must implement the same level of encryption as WhatsApp using the Signal Protocol to ensure user privacy and security.

European Region Only

Interoperability features are currently available for users in the European Region, with platforms rolling out compliance features progressively.

DMA Implementation Timeline

Key milestones for messaging interoperability requirements

✓
Dec 2020
Commission proposal
✓
Mar 2022
Political agreement
✓
Nov 2022
DMA enters into force
✓
May 2023
Rules start to apply
✓
Sep 2023
Gatekeepers designated
✓
Mar 2024
Obligations apply
Why Unipile

Your DMA-Ready Communication API

Unipile provides a unified API that helps you navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and build future-proof communication integrations.

Unified API

Available Now

One API to access WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram, Telegram, Email, and Calendar. No need to manage multiple integrations or compliance requirements separately.

GDPR & SOC 2 Compliant

EU Hosted

All data hosted in France on European infrastructure. SOC 2 Type II certified with full GDPR compliance. Your data never leaves the EU.

Future-Proof Architecture

Scalable

Our unified schema adapts to regulatory changes. As DMA interoperability expands to groups and calls, Unipile evolves with you.

Built-in Protection

Enterprise Grade

Built-in proxy, rate limiting, and quota management. We handle the complexity so you can focus on building great products.

DMA FAQ

Common questions about the Digital Markets Act and its impact on messaging APIs.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is an EU regulation that came into force in November 2022. It targets large digital platforms called "gatekeepers" to ensure fair competition and prevent anti-competitive practices. The DMA requires these platforms to enable interoperability, data portability, and fair access for third-party services. For messaging services like WhatsApp and Messenger, this means they must allow third-party apps to communicate with their users.
As of 2024, seven companies have been designated as gatekeepers:
  • Alphabet (Google) – Search, Maps, Play Store, Android, Chrome
  • Apple – iOS, App Store, Safari, iPadOS
  • Meta – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger
  • Amazon – Marketplace, Advertising
  • Microsoft – Windows, LinkedIn
  • ByteDance – TikTok
  • Booking.com – Online travel agency
Under the DMA, WhatsApp and Messenger must provide interoperability with third-party messaging services. This means users can receive and send messages from other apps directly within WhatsApp. The requirements are phased:
  • Year 1 (2024-2025): 1:1 text messaging, images, voice messages, videos, and files
  • Year 2 (2025-2026): Group messaging functionality
  • Year 3 (2026-2027): Voice and video calls
Third-party services must maintain end-to-end encryption using the Signal Protocol.
Yes, the DMA is an EU regulation that applies within the European Economic Area (EEA). The interoperability features mandated by the DMA are currently only available to users in the European Region. However, as a significant global precedent, the DMA may influence similar regulations in other jurisdictions and shape how large platforms operate worldwide.
The DMA includes some of the most severe financial penalties in global technology regulation:
  • Initial violations: Up to 10% of worldwide annual turnover
  • Repeated infringements: Up to 20% of global turnover
  • Ongoing non-compliance: Periodic penalties of up to 5% of average daily turnover
For the largest platforms, these penalties could exceed €20 billion. Apple became the first company to be charged under the DMA in June 2024.
Unipile provides a unified API that simplifies access to multiple communication platforms including WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram, Telegram, and Email. Our platform is:
  • GDPR compliant with all data hosted in France
  • SOC 2 Type II certified for enterprise security
  • Future-proof with a unified schema that adapts to regulatory changes
  • Developer-friendly with comprehensive documentation and support
As DMA interoperability requirements expand, Unipile helps you stay ahead of compliance while building seamless communication experiences.
As of late 2024, Meta has partnered with BirdyChat and Haiket as the first third-party services to implement messaging interoperability with WhatsApp in Europe. Users who opt in can share messages, images, voice messages, videos, and files between platforms while maintaining end-to-end encryption. Meta continues to work with the European Commission and additional partners to expand interoperability offerings.
The European Commission maintains an official portal with comprehensive information about the Digital Markets Act, including gatekeeper designations, compliance reports, and enforcement actions. Visit the official DMA website for the latest updates, legal texts, and resources directly from the EU Commission.
No, iMessage is not currently designated as a gatekeeper service. In February 2024, the European Commission announced that iMessage does not meet the required usage thresholds to qualify as a gatekeeper under the DMA. Similarly, Microsoft's Bing, Edge, and Advertising services were also excluded. However, Apple's iOS, App Store, Safari, and iPadOS are designated gatekeeper services subject to other DMA obligations.

Still have questions about the DMA? Our team is here to help.

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