Elon Musk, the billionaire proprietor of Twitter, has been throwing plenty of options on the social media web site after spending a whopping $44bn for it final yr. However regardless of hinting at producing “Twitter 2.0 The All the pieces App,” his newest concept appears similar to WhatsApp, the favored immediate messaging app from Twitter’s greatest social media competitor, Meta (the corporate behind Fb).
As Reuters experiences (opens in new tab), Musk introduced in a Tweet that “coming quickly might be voice and video chat out of your deal with to anybody on this platform, so you possibly can speak to individuals anyplace on this planet with out giving them your telephone quantity.”
Having the ability to make video and voice calls through Twitter is definitely an fascinating growth, aligning it extra intently with the likes of WhatsApp and Fb Messenger, which supply these options as effectively.
With newest model of app, you possibly can DM reply to any message within the thread (not simply most up-to-date) and use any emoji response. Launch of encrypted DMs V1.0 ought to occur tomorrow. It will develop in sophistication quickly. The acid check is that I couldn’t see your DMs even when…Might 9, 2023
Within the above tweet, Musk additionally introduced that direct messages (DMs) will now be encrypted, and promised that the characteristic will “develop in sophistication quickly.”
Hold it secret, hold it secure
Encrypted messaging signifies that any non-public messages you ship to somebody will stay non-public, so Twitter workers, governments, legislation enforcement companies or malicious customers can’t achieve entry to them.
WhatsApp additionally gives encrypted messaging, and it’s usually touted as one of many primary advantages of the app. Privateness and freedom of speech campaigners have welcomed this announcement, and there are clear advantages, particularly for individuals residing and dealing in oppressive regimes.
Some individuals say, nonetheless, that encrypting messages can permit criminal activity to flourish. That is an argument usually utilized by governments, and has led to fairly frosty relationships between sure regimes and Meta over WhatsApp’s encryption.
By additionally including encryption to Twitter, Musk dangers elevating the ire of governments as effectively, however as somebody who fancies themselves as considerably of an antiauthoritarian, this most likely gained’t concern Musk an excessive amount of.
What ought to be of concern, nonetheless, is that with latest controversies comparable to eradicating legacy Blue Checks and an increase of maximum rhetoric from some customers that has led to an exodus of advertisers (in response to numerous sources, together with Reuters (opens in new tab)), there’s a sense that Twitter could possibly be shedding relevance. Saying a couple of new options that rivals are already providing simply gained’t minimize it. If Twitter is to outlive, Musk’s Twitter 2.0 plans have to be extra formidable – however that can also be a scary prospect.
