4 ms·

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 k

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?

thevillagechief 9mo ago
iMessage will not be opening up. They lobbied hard in the EU and got an exemption for not being popular enough there I guess.
- nozzlegear 9mo ago
  Did they lobby for an exemption, or is that just how the law is written?
  - bsimpson 9mo ago
    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 9mo ago
      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 9mo ago
      In fact, Apple is still part of the DMA list with Safari, iOS, iPad OS and App Store.
  - drcongo 9mo ago
    I might be misremembering, but I think iMessage implementing RCS was the compromise.
    - hocuspocus 9mo ago
      Unlikely, iOS still doesn't support RCS in most European countries.
    - jeroenhd 9mo ago
      iMessage isn't popular enough in Europe to be broken up by the DMA from what I recall.
- Hamuko 9mo ago
  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.
TZubiri 9mo ago
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.)
- kelnos 9mo ago
  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 9mo ago
    Ok then, Apple's Messages is interoperable, as you can communicate via SMS with its users.
    - snowmobile 9mo ago
      You can communicate via SMS with users of WhatsApp too genius. Do you think it's encrypted in any way?
- nottorp 9mo ago
  > You can send an SMS to any number Can you send a photo?
  - blell 9mo ago
    Yes, through MMS or RCS.
    - hocuspocus 9mo ago
      So, no. MMS is increasingly being discontinued in several regions, and RCS support is extremely patchy worldwide, especially on iOS.

thevillagechief 9mo ago

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

nozzlegear 9mo ago
Did they lobby for an exemption, or is that just how the law is written?
- bsimpson 9mo ago
  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 9mo ago
    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 9mo ago
    In fact, Apple is still part of the DMA list with Safari, iOS, iPad OS and App Store.
- drcongo 9mo ago
  I might be misremembering, but I think iMessage implementing RCS was the compromise.
  - hocuspocus 9mo ago
    Unlikely, iOS still doesn't support RCS in most European countries.
  - jeroenhd 9mo ago
    iMessage isn't popular enough in Europe to be broken up by the DMA from what I recall.
Hamuko 9mo ago
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.

TZubiri 9mo ago

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.)

kelnos 9mo ago
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 9mo ago
  Ok then, Apple's Messages is interoperable, as you can communicate via SMS with its users.
  - snowmobile 9mo ago
    You can communicate via SMS with users of WhatsApp too genius. Do you think it's encrypted in any way?
nottorp 9mo ago
> You can send an SMS to any number Can you send a photo?
- blell 9mo ago
  Yes, through MMS or RCS.
  - hocuspocus 9mo ago
    So, no. MMS is increasingly being discontinued in several regions, and RCS support is extremely patchy worldwide, especially on iOS.