Twitter Working on End-to-End Encryption for Direct Messages

Twitter is working on end-to-end encryption for direct messages sent over the social network, according to app researcher Jane Manchun Wong.

Twitter Feature
"Seeing signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android," wrote Wong in a tweet, which was accompanied by code strings highlighting references to encryption keys.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk later replied to Wong's tweet with a winking face emoji – a heavy hint that the feature is indeed in development.

End-to-end encrypted DMs would put Twitter's messaging platform on the level of apps like Signal and WhatsApp, ensuring that a conversation between users is only ever seen by those sending the messages and not a surveilling third party.

Twitter began work on encryption for Twitter DMs back in 2018 under the moniker "secret conversations," but the feature never materialized. Musk has previously championed privacy-centric encrypted messaging platform Signal, suggesting he is making secure communications a priority for the service.


In related developments, Musk has said that Twitter's $8-per-month subscription plan will relaunch later than originally planned. Twitter Blue Verified will now return on November 29, "to make sure that it is rock solid," Musk announced via tweet late Tuesday.

Tag: Twitter

Top Rated Comments

Koni17 Avatar
18 months ago
I'm surprised Elon still has engineers there that want to work for him, his feuds with Twitter engineers regarding development he apparently doesn't understand, and the subsequent firings can't be good for employee morale.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
18 months ago

Whilst i do believe you should be able to have a constructive argument with your boss, however heated, and not risk being fired. The outlet he chose to do this however, is where I think the sacking comes from. It was very unprofessional calling your boss out on Twitter, instead of going directly to the source and speaking with him about the issue, even if it's through a DM/Slack/Email.
Hmm. Who did really choose the outlet?

If Mr. Free Speech alleges facts in public, I would fully expect he'd welcome public disagreement, as well. Musk certainly isn't shy about sharing his unsolicited opinion and has publicly stated that cancelling people for voicing their opinion is wrong.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haytherecharlie Avatar
18 months ago
For all the insanity that’s been going on in the media, I really feel like Twitter will get better over the coming months / years. Elon is 100% an ego maniac, but he will bring back Vine (which could actually compete with TikTok) he will simplify and clean up the infrastructure and then be able to use one of the largest databases of human nonsense to train his AIs.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deedeekay Avatar
18 months ago
i TruST It COMplEtEly!!1 eL0N iz geeNUs??!!1
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
laptech Avatar
18 months ago

Hmm. Who did really choose the outlet?

If Mr. Free Speech alleges facts in public, I would fully expect he'd welcome public disagreement, as well. Musk certainly isn't shy about sharing his unsolicited opinion and has publicly stated that cancelling people for voicing their opinion is wrong.
This is the problem with 'Do as I say, not as I do ' bosses such as Elon Musk who will air his concerns in public but if any of his employee's were to follow his example, nope, they get fired. He never set's a good example towards his employees.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiiDSmoker Avatar
18 months ago
Regardless of whatever the hell is happening with the takeover, end to end encryption is a good thing.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...