X’s new DMs feature, XChat, has begun rolling out to beta testers. Some X users who pay for the platform’s subscription product have reported that they can access XChat, while reverse engineer Nima Owji confirmed to TechCrunch that the new messaging system appears to be ready to ship.
XChat is intended to be a more robust version of X’s existing DMs (direct messages) feature, which is a holdover from before Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
Some features that have been rumored to be part of XChat include group messages, end-to-end encryption, vanishing mode, the ability to mark messages as unread, and file sharing. Messages also appear to be secured behind a 4-digit passcode.
X announced on Thursday that it was pausing work on its encrypted DMs feature, which could be related to the impending release of XChat, since this new system would render the existing DMs interface obsolete. Paid subscribers on X have had access to a limited version of encrypted messaging for two years.
In the years since he bought Twitter, Musk has spoken on numerous occasions about his ambitions to make a Signal-like messaging service embedded into X. If XChat really is gearing up for public use, then this news could represent Musk’s follow-through on that goal.
Amanda Silberling is a senior writer at TechCrunch covering the intersection of technology and culture. She has also written for publications like Polygon, MTV, the Kenyon Review, NPR, and Business Insider. She is the co-host of Wow If True, a podcast about internet culture, with science fiction author Isabel J. Kim. Prior to joining TechCrunch, she worked as a grassroots organizer, museum educator, and film festival coordinator. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and served as a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Laos.
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