In early March, X (formerly Twitter) began testing a dedicated app called XChat among thousands of beta testers. It seems that the testing phase is over and the app is ready for its public release. The company owned by Elon Musk has announced that XChat is now listed on the App Store, with a wider launch slated for the coming days.
What is the biggest game?
The chat app’s listing page on the App Store mentions a release date of April 17, and it will be available simultaneously on iPhone and iPad. As far as advanced features go, the XChat app touts end-to-end encryption as one of its standout features. For those who don’t know, E2E is currently considered the safest security protocol to ensure that your messages are private, and no middleman or third party (including the company that created the platform) can read your conversations.
WhatsApp and Signal, for example, use it automatically. On Instagram and Telegram, there is a dedicated private chat feature that relies on end-to-end encryption to protect your messages.
Circling back to XChat, it will also enable screenshot blocking, which means that no participant in the chat can take screenshots of conversations. The app will allow users to edit or delete sent messages, and will allow them to send disappearing messages. Calling and group discussions will also be part of the package.
Ever since Musk took over X (which eventually merged with xAI, followed by a broader merger with SpaceX), plans to create a high-end operating system took center stage. Back in December, Musk teased that he wanted to turn X into something like WeChat, a Chinese app that allows for everything from messaging and payments to bookings, among a host of other unusual services. In June of last year, it was reported that the X super app will provide investment and trading services once the super app plans are completed.
Why this interesting change?
There’s more to the program than a direct message pivot to XChat. Or at least that’s what Musk’s previous claims, and the recent turn of events, suggest. On the surface, it seems like Musk simply wants to use a messaging app that fills in the gaps that you can’t access in a social media app.
Just a day ago, Musk shared on X that WhatsApp can’t be trusted, referring to the lawsuit that Meta allowed third parties to access encrypted messages on WhatsApp. Although WhatsApp denied these claims, Musk’s statement added more fuel to the secret fire. Separately, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said WhatsApp’s encryption claims amounted to “the biggest consumer fraud in history.” But it didn’t end there.
Signal – one of the most trusted messaging apps out there, thanks to its strict security measures – has also found itself in the line of fire. According to reports, the FBI was able to find the content of Signal’s messages after accessing the notification history on the suspect’s iPhone, even though the app allows for a lock feature. Pavel also took a potshot at Signal, highlighting that Telegram never displays message content in the notification banner.
It looks like XChat is making a splashy public debut at a time when trust in popular privacy platforms like WhatsApp and Signal will be scrutinized. In addition, it would be interesting to see if X offers all the features for free, or if some of them will be locked after a premium subscription, such as a social service for your siblings.
