Twitter is set on Wednesday to launch a service that lets users of the platform send encrypted direct messages, while the social media company also plans to add voice and video calling capabilities, according to CEO Elon Musk.
In a tweet, Musk said the update will include at least two new functions to the platform’s direct messaging, or DM, feature, in addition to introducing encryption for DMs.
“The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to my head,” wrote Musk, who owns Twitter.
He also shared that the update enables users to reply to any message in a direct message thread, not just the most recent message in the chat.
The encrypted messaging features “should” become available on Wednesday, Musk not. He did not offer a concrete timeline for launching video and voice calling features, which would allow Twitter users to call others on the platform.
Twitter has previously struggled to deliver promised products on time, and has sometimes failed to deliver on its promises at all. In February, for example, Musk said Twitter would split its advertising revenue with content creators, something that has not yet come to fruition. That same month, he also vowed give developers access to Twitter’s algorithm “next week.” That, too, hasn’t happened yet.
Calls for privacy
Encryption is the process of protecting sensitive or private data by using an algorithm to scramble that information so only the sender and intended recipient can read it.
The move toward encrypted messaging is generally positive for social media users, said Kohei Kurihara, co-founder of Privacy by Design Lab. But he advises users to be mindful of how that data is stored.
“Users should ask Twitter whether their data is surely protected with end-to-end encryption and ask for transparency to share and secure their own data,” Kurihara told CBS MoneyWatch.
Musk’s plans to implement end-to-end encryption clashes with some of the CEO’s previous Twitter policy changes that critics say undermined security on the site. In March, Twitter eliminated two-factor authentication for all users except subscribers to its paid Twitter Blue service, who represent just 0.2% of the platform’s users, the Information reported. The policy change removed an added layer of security from many users’ accounts.
Twitter in April also eliminated blue checkmarks, or verification badges, for celebrities, journalists and other public figures. That led to an increase in accounts impersonating public figures, Twitter’s “Transparency Report” shows.
Twitter changes come as some social media users seek greater privacy following a number of high-profile data leaks. In April, Facebook settled allegations that it had improperly disseminated users’ data with third parties such as advertisers and data brokers. Meanwhile, an inquiry conducted by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, revealed last year that TikTok employees had inappropriately accessed the data of TikTok users in the U.S., including journalists.