XChat Launches This Week, But Encryption Claims Spark Debate
Elon Musk announced the rollout of XChat, X's new direct messaging (DM) feature, to all users this week. The updated platform boasts features like vanishing messages, file sharing, and audio/video calling.
XChat is built using Rust and incorporates what Musk calls "Bitcoin-style" encryption. This claim has raised concerns among security experts. Bitcoin itself isn't encrypted, but relies on public key cryptography. This discrepancy has fueled speculation about whether Musk's terminology is accurate, a marketing tactic, or a misunderstanding of encryption concepts.
XChat's Security Under Scrutiny
Musk has previously expressed ambitions for X's DMs to rival encrypted platforms like Signal and iMessage. However, the ambiguity surrounding XChat's encryption raises doubts about its competitiveness in the secure messaging space.
The platform also offers audio and video calls without requiring phone numbers, a feature available across all platforms. This launch follows X's recent pause on its previous encrypted DM project, suggesting XChat is its replacement.
Despite these new features, X has experienced recent instability and outages, impacting various functionalities, including XChat. This raises concerns about the platform's reliability as it expands its messaging capabilities.
The rollout of XChat is expected this week, barring any scaling issues. Whether XChat can truly compete with established encrypted messaging apps remains to be seen, particularly given the ongoing debate surrounding its security implementation.
