These Five New Features Make X DMs More Like a Messaging App

X has never been a go-to app for messaging, even back when it was known as Twitter. Direct messages are useful, sure, and I have no doubt that someone out there uses it as their main chat app. But the platform's chat function have never been most users' reason for logging on, especially compared to dedicated platforms like WhatsApp.

But Elon Musk isn't content with that status quo. As TechCrunch reports, Musk has made it clear over the years since he acquired and renamed Twitter that he wants DMs to compete with (and beat out) competitors like Signal and iMessage. Now, he's finally making a move, as DMs on X are transforming into something new: XChat.

On Sunday, Musk posted on X announcing that XChat's rollout. It does appear that the new chat feature is currently in beta, but between Musk's post, and some first-hand reporting, it looks like XChat is bringing four key new features to chatting on X.

Encryption

Encryption is the first new feature Musk mentions in his XChat post, and it's no mystery why. End-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging is a key feature for modern chat apps. It ensures that only the users involved in the conversation are able to read the messages sent and received—if bad actors were to intercept the thread and attempt to read the messages without logging into the approved user's account, they'd see a jumble of meaningless code. Importantly, it means the company that makes the chat app can't access your messages either.

Most chat apps offer E2EE to at least some degree. Signal made the standard famous, but iMessage, WhatsApp, and Messenger all use it. X's DMs have traditionally not been encrypted, which meant it is possible for someone at X to read your chats, or to release your chats to the authorities should they request them.

Musk isn't wrong that E2EE is necessary if you're trying to make a chat app to compete with the likes of Signal, but he also isn't clear if he understands how encryption works. Musk says XChat's encryption is "build on Rust with (Bitcoin style) encryption." Rust is a programming language, which makes his wording here a bit odd. (One Redditor points out Musk is treating Rust like a platform, not the programming language that it is.) But more importantly, Bitcoin isn't encrypted, which makes "Bitcoin-style encryption" a confusing statement. There's speculation that Musk means "cryptography," which Bitcoin does use, but that's not the same as encryption. For the sake of XChat's users, I hope chats are actually E2EE, but it's tough to say at this point.

Vanishing messages

Snapchat may have made vanishing messages popular, but it's far from the only app to offer them. For years, you've been able to send self-destructing texts in apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Soon, you'll be able to do the same in XChat.

It's not clear how XChat will handle vanishing messages, but I'm guessing the app will offer a self-destruct feature that will let you select a time limit before a sent message expires, like Telegram.

File sharing

With XChat, Musk says you'll have the ability to send "any kind of file." He's sparse any other details, but file sharing is a useful element to any chat app. Currently, you can send photos, videos, and GIFs in X DMs, but not other file types.

Make messages as unread

Musk did not announce this feature in his initial post, but a user testing out the beta noticed it. XChat supports "unreading" a message, or, essentially, marking it as unread. It's a small but helpful change for messages you can't get to right away, but don't want to forget about the next time you scroll through your chats.

Delete messages for everyone in the chat

This is another new feature Musk did not announce himself. That same beta tester post notes that XChat supports the ability to deleting a message for all participants. Like many chat apps, if you send a message you regret, you can "undo" it, and it will be removed from the recipients' chats as well.

Many apps place a time limit on this feature, however. iMessage, for example, only lets you undo a message within two minutes of sending it. After that, you'll only see the option to delete it for yourself. It's not yet clear how long XChat will let you delete a message for everyone after you send it.

Audio and video calls (which aren't actually new)

As part of the announcement, Musk said that audio and video calls would also be rolling out to XChat—but X has already had audio and video calling for a while, so I'm not sure why he chose to highlight them.

Will XChat actually catch on as a messaging alternative?

Maybe I'm skeptical, but I strongly doubt these new features—while genuinely useful—will make XChat the chat app to beat, and for a simple reason: Have you ever tried getting your friends and family to switch chat apps? It's like pulling teeth. People are set in their ways when it comes to communication—whether they're committed to their iPhones with iMessage, or they're dedicated to WhatsApp like most of the world. There are a lot of apps out there for communication, and while people switch between them for various reasons, you're unlikely to move them en masse to one specific platform.

Add to that the fact that this new option is tied to a controversial platform owned by a controversial person, and it's hard to imagine anyone signing up for X just to use XChat. I could be wrong, but something tells me I won't be XChatting with my friends and family in the near future.