According to Elon Musk, Twitter will be getting a slew of new features any day now. In a Tuesday night tweet, the social media CEO stated that the first version of the encrypted chat will be available on his site on Wednesday. “The release of encrypted DMs V1.0 is scheduled for tomorrow.” This will soon advance in sophistication. “The litmus test is that I couldn’t see your DMs even if I had a gun to my head,” Musk wrote.
He also stated that audio and video chat options will be “coming soon.” Providing users with the ability to “talk to people anywhere in the world without giving them your phone number.”
The features would be significant improvements to the site, which has struggled to sustain usership since Elon Musk’s ill-fated takeover in October 2022. And, yes, it would be great if there was another platform available for sending encrypted communications easily and reliably. Why not include another option for video calls?
With latest version of app, you can DM reply to any message in the thread (not just most recent) and use any emoji reaction.
Release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow. This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
Musk makes big promises for Twitter’s future
The last several months have been filled with Musk making large promises on tight deadlines and then failing to deliver on time, as is his habit. For example, on February 3, the billionaire announced that “starting today, Twitter will share ad revenue with creators.” However, he revealed that the software for the functionality was still under development more than three months later.
Twitter’s recommendation system was released weeks later than Musk promised, and the multi-hyphenate CEO has failed to fulfill the completely open source pledges. Twitter Blue and the elimination of unpaid blue checks were a frantic back-and-forth in which almost every stage of the numerous adjustments missed a previously stated date. It remains to be seen if Musk will keep his largest Twitter promise and step out as CEO before the end of 2023.
Returning to the topic of potential new features, Twitter has implemented a few alterations to its in-app messaging system recently. Specifically, users are now able to directly respond to individual DMs, much like how it works in Slack or iMessage.
Additionally, there is a new feature allowing users to react to messages using various available emojis. Gizmodo has confirmed that these updates are present in the latest version of the Twitter app for iOS. The company’s support account has stated that these capabilities will soon be available on the web version as well. Credit should be given to Twitter for making these changes.
We’re excited to launch two new features in Direct Messages today!
📢 Introducing DM Replies! You can now reply to any message you receive in DMs, making conversations smoother and more intuitive.
🥳 We’ve also added a new Emoji Picker to DMs, allowing you to react to messages…
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) May 10, 2023
Rumors of encrypted messaging on Twitter for years
At the time of publication, encrypted messages and voice/video calls have not yet been introduced, despite the company’s recent efforts to explore these features after Elon Musk took over in November, as reported by The Verge.
It is worth noting, however, that rumors about encrypted messaging on Twitter have been circulating for several years. Before Musk’s leadership, the platform appeared to have tested the possibility of encrypted direct messages (DMs) in 2018, but the feature never materialized.
Interestingly, Moxie Marlinspike, a Twitter employee who co-founded Signal, one of the most popular and highly regarded encrypted messaging apps, left the company after his privacy project was rejected.
We hope that you enjoyed this article about upcoming voice and video calls on Twitter. If you did, we are sure that you will also enjoy reading some of our other articles, such as the Elon Musk federal investigation explained: Twitter deal, or Leaked Elon Musk texts reveal why the Twitter deal collapsed.
