Elon Musk Announces End-to-End Encrypted DMs on Twitter
Twitter has been making several product changes to enhance its platform, and Elon Musk has been vocal about his desire to make direct messages more secure. Musk has even mentioned that he wants DMs to “superset Signal” – the encrypted messaging app.
Over the weekend, Musk announced that the end-to-end encrypted DM feature will roll out this month. Users will also be able to reply to individual messages and use any reaction emoji. Currently, users can only choose among seven emojis as reactions.
End-to-end encryption protection means that no one, including Twitter, will be able to read your chats (except the recipients of your messages). Several other apps and messaging protocols like WhatsApp, Signal, and iMessage already use this kind of encryption. Currently, Twitter employees can potentially read the content of direct messages on the platform. It’s not clear at the moment if the encryption will be available for both individual and group chats. Similarly, it’s unclear whether end-to-end encryption will be enabled by default or will be an opt-in feature.
Encrypted DMs are not a new project. Twitter started working on them back in 2018 but abandoned its efforts later. Last year, app researcher Jane Manchun Wong discovered new code suggesting that the social network has resumed its work on the feature under the new management.
What’s more, Twitter designer Andrea Conway also showed off a concept in February, which indicated that DMs will have a banner at the top of a conversation to indicate that it is protected through end-to-end encryption.
Other new functions are just part of Twitter trying to achieve feature parity with chat apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. The Meta-owned app expanded its emoji reaction feature last year, and Telegram pushed custom reactions behind a paywall.
In conclusion, Twitter’s new end-to-end encrypted DM feature is a significant step towards making the platform more secure. With this feature, users can be assured that their chats are private and cannot be accessed by anyone except the recipients of their messages. It remains to be seen how Twitter will implement this feature and whether it will be enabled by default or will be an opt-in feature.
Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company, recently announced on Twitter that the social media platform will be rolling out encrypted direct messages (DMs) sometime this month.
This announcement comes as no surprise, given that Twitter has been working on adding end-to-end encryption to its DMs for some time. However, very few details have been provided as to what exactly this new feature will look like or how it will function, leaving many users wondering what to expect.
End-to-end encryption is a form of cryptography where messages are encoded in such a way that only the sender and the intended recipient can read them. This is in contrast to standard encryption methods used by social media platforms, which only protect user data in transit, leaving messages vulnerable to hackers or government surveillance.
Musk’s announcement has been met with a lot of positive feedback, as encryption is an essential tool for protecting users’ privacy on social media platforms. Many users have expressed concerns about how their private conversations on Twitter may be accessed or monitored without proper encryption in place.
Moreover, this move towards end-to-end encryption could bring more users back to the platform, especially those who left or switched to other platforms due to trust concerns. Privacy has become a crucial issue for social media users worldwide, and users are more likely to stay on platforms that prioritize their privacy and security.
Although Twitter’s end-to-end encryption feature is still in its testing phase and not yet available to the public, this announcement is significant for Twitter and its users. Encryption of DMs is just one step that Twitter can take to provide more secure and private communication for users, and it is a strong signal that the platform is taking privacy concerns seriously.
In conclusion, end-to-end encrypted DMs could be a game-changer for Twitter, demonstrating the company’s commitment to user privacy and security. If this feature performs as expected, it could attract users to return to the platform or encourage current users who may be using other apps for their DMs to switch back to Twitter. As we wait for the launch of this feature, many users hope that Twitter will continue prioritizing privacy and security for its users.
