X is officially rolling out Chat, a major upgrade to its direct messaging experience, and one that pushes the platform closer to being a full private-messaging app.
Announced on Friday, Chat is now available on iOS and the web, with Android “coming soon.” It replaces the old DM system entirely, and all your previous messages should migrate over automatically.
Chat introduces end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for both messages and files, but it’s not a blanket guarantee of anonymity. According to X’s support documentation:
Message metadata is not encrypted, meaning X still knows who you messaged and when.
The system currently can’t protect against man-in-the-middle attacks. X even notes that if a malicious insider, or X itself, compromised a chat, users would have no way of knowing.
X says message authenticity and device verification tools are in the works.
New Privacy Tools: Disappearing Messages and Anti-Screenshot Controls
Chat adds a suite of features more commonly found in private messaging apps like Signal, Instagram, and Telegram:
- Disappearing messages, with auto-delete timers.
- Screenshot notifications, plus the option to block screenshots entirely.
- Editable and deletable messages, giving users more control after hitting send.
Voice & Video Calls Are Built In
Another big addition: native voice and video calling, no phone number required. Voice notes are also coming soon, turning X’s DMs into a more complete communication hub.
X originally introduced encrypted DMs back in 2023 but quietly paused the feature this May for “improvements.” Chat appears to be the promised overhaul, not just a tweak, but a full reinvention of how private messaging works on the platform.
This is a significant step toward Elon Musk’s vision of turning X into an “everything app.” With encryption (even imperfect), calls, disappearing messages, and multimedia support, Chat positions X as:
- A WhatsApp-style messaging layer
- A creator/content platform
- A live video hub
- A payments and commerce ecosystem (coming later)
How users respond, and whether they trust X’s version of encryption, will be the real test.