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X is now rolling out an encrypted chat feature that adds new capabilities to X’s classic direct messaging functionality, and brings it into closer competition with full-featured messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram.
With Chat, users will be able to share files, as well as edit, delete, or make messages disappear after a certain period of time. Voice-note functionality is also in the works.
X users will also be able to block screenshots and be notified when someone tries to screenshot their message. Users will still be able to access their legacy DMs in one unified inbox.
The update was first teased by X owner Elon Musk in June, under the working name XChat. It's now rolling out on iOS and the web, and X says the Android rollout will begin soon. During a late October appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, Musk also said XChat would be available as a standalone app eventually.
Musk likened Chat to a "peer-to-peer-based encryption system [that's] kind of similar to Bitcoin." It will "replace what used to be the Twitter...DM stack with a fully encrypted system where you can text send files [and] do audio video calls," he added. "I think it'll be the least...insecure of any messaging system."
Musk has previously discussed long-term plans to turn X into a “super-app” or “everything app," comparable to China’s WeChat, which hundreds of millions of people use for a combination of payments, messaging, and social media.