Elon Musk Announces XChat is Launching for Everyone, But Concerns About its Claimed Security Features Persist

On Sunday, Elon Musk revealed that XChat, an upgraded version of X’s Direct Messaging (DM) feature, is being released with new capabilities including disappearing messages, encryption, file sharing, and support for audio and video calls.

While these features are not widely available yet—since XChat only recently entered beta testing with a limited group—Musk noted that the platform aims to expand access to all users this week, provided no scaling issues arise during the rollout.

Confusion Over Bitcoin-Style Encryption

In a series of posts on X, Musk mentioned that the new version of XChat is built using Rust and features “Bitcoin-style” encryption along with an entirely new architecture. However, the term “Bitcoin-style encryption” has raised eyebrows, as Bitcoin itself isn’t actually encrypted—it relies on public key cryptography and digital signatures for security.

This has sparked debate, with some questioning whether Musk is using the term as a marketing buzzword, may have misunderstood encryption concepts, or perhaps intended to say “cryptography” instead.

Doubts About XChat’s Security Claims

Musk has frequently expressed his ambition for X’s Direct Messages to rival secure messaging platforms like Signal and iMessage. However, describing XChat as using only “Bitcoin-style encryption” raises doubts about whether it can truly compete with those services.

Musk also announced that XChat now allows users to make audio and video calls across all platforms without needing a phone number.

Ahead of this rollout, X had paused development on its encrypted DM feature, likely in anticipation of XChat replacing the older system.

Unfortunately for users, the platform has experienced notable instability in recent days, with several outages disrupting access to timelines and features, including XChat.

Read the original article on: TechCrunch

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