WhatsApp is a hybrid service comprising features of private messaging and of an online platform. WhatsApp Channels, the feature of WhatsApp that allows recipients to disseminate information, updates and announcements to a broad audience of WhatsApp users, falls under the definition of an online platform service and is therefore already subject to the general DSA obligations that online platforms in the EU must respect. WhatsApp’s private messaging service enabling users to send text messages, voice notes, photos, videos, documents, and make voice and video calls to other users remains explicitly excluded from the application of the DSA.
Following the designation, Meta, the provider of WhatsApp, has four months, i.e. by mid-May 2026, to ensure WhatsApp complies with the additional DSA obligations for VLOPs.