X unveiled “Chat” on Nov. 17, 2025 — a rebuilt direct‑messaging system that replaces legacy DMs and brings end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE), audio and video calls, file sharing and disappearing messages to the social network. The feature is available on iOS and the web now, with an Android rollout promised “soon.”
What’s new: features and availability
Chat consolidates private messaging in a single interface and adds a suite of controls X says users have long asked for. Key features include:
- End‑to‑end encryption for messages and files (X says chat messages and media are encrypted in transit and at rest in conversations).
- Voice and video calling from within Chat, with voice notes reportedly coming later.
- Disappearing messages with configurable timers.
- Edit and delete options for sent messages.
- Screenshot protections: users can choose to be notified if a chat is screenshotted or block screenshots entirely.
- File sharing of “any kind” of file, according to company posts.
- WhatsApp and Signal offer E2EE by default for one‑to‑one and group conversations; they also have long‑standing provenance and independent security audits. WhatsApp uses additional integrations (such as business webhooks) that have drawn debate about metadata exposure, though those features are separate from personal chats.
- WeChat combines messaging with payments and services but operates under a different regulatory and censorship environment in China.
- If you value stronger message‑level privacy inside X, Chat is a clear upgrade over the platform’s older DM model.
- If you require the highest assurance that metadata and account keys are protected — or need independent verification of encryption claims — stick with messaging apps that have a longer record of independent audits and stronger metadata protections until third‑party reviews of Chat appear.
- If you plan to use X for future financial or identity services, keep in mind that those features will depend not only on encryption but on trust in the platform’s operational and governance practices.
The company says old DMs should carry across into the new Chat inbox. Some advanced or expanded capabilities will be gated for X’s paying subscribers, though the core Chat experience is rolling out to all users on supported platforms.
The security pitch — and the caveats
X framed Chat as a major privacy upgrade. The new architecture — reportedly built in Rust and described by CEO Elon Musk as using Bitcoin‑style encryption techniques — is meant to support stronger client‑side protections than the platform’s prior DM system.
But the launch comes with notable caveats. X’s own documentation and public notes make clear that not everything associated with a conversation is concealed. Metadata — who received a message and when — is not encrypted by Chat. And X warns that there is currently no built‑in defense that would let users detect if a “malicious insider or X itself” had compromised a chat, a scenario the company says it is working to address with future verification features for device identity and message authenticity.
Security researchers and industry observers have already flagged those limits. Critics point out that true privacy for messaging requires more than encrypting message bodies; metadata protections and verifiable device identity are also crucial. The platform’s prior, staggered rollout of encryption — first introduced for some users in 2023, paused in May 2025 for a rewrite, and reintroduced to Premium subscribers earlier this year — underscores how difficult it has been to deploy full E2EE across a global messaging product.
Group messages were another stumbling block during development: reports said group encryption posed implementation problems that delayed wider release. X says group messages and media can now be encrypted, but some observers remain cautious until independent analysis confirms the implementation’s robustness.
Why it matters: Musk’s everything‑app play
Chat is a strategic piece of Elon Musk’s long‑stated ambition to transform X from a public social network into a broader “everything app,” a Western analogue to China’s WeChat that could someday host payments, banking and commerce in addition to social features. Better private messaging is a prerequisite for that expansion; X has signaled hopes that secure DMs will help enable transactional use cases like payments and identity services.
Skeptics say those ambitions bump up against trust: if users and regulators doubt the platform’s commitment to privacy, uptake of sensitive new services (for example, storing financial data or applying for loans) may be limited.
How Chat compares to established messaging platforms
Compared with mainstream encrypted messaging apps, Chat closes some gaps but leaves others open:
X’s advantage is the potential to combine a public social graph with richer private interactions inside one app. Its disadvantage is the platform’s relatively recent track record on protecting user data and the perceptional headwinds facing its owner.
Reactions and implications
Company spokespeople and posts emphasize the technical rebuild and usability improvements. Musk has characterized the goal as building the “least insecure” messaging system available — a candid framing that acknowledges constraints while pitching progress.
Security experts and commentators, meanwhile, urged caution. They highlight the risks stemming from metadata exposure, the possibility of insider compromise, and the need for verifiable device and key management features to make E2EE meaningful at scale.
From a product perspective, Chat may change how people use X: stronger private messaging could increase time spent on the platform and make it more attractive for one‑to‑one and small‑group coordination. From a strategic perspective, it is a necessary step toward any payments, commerce or identity plays X plans to pursue.
What users should consider
For now, Chat is a notable technical milestone for X: it brings E2EE, voice and video calls and modern messaging conveniences to the app’s inbox. But the rollout also exposes tensions between feature parity with established messengers and the harder work of earning user trust — particularly for a platform that aims to expand into financial services and other sensitive areas.