Elon Musk wants Twitter DMs to be more secure, interested in video and voice chat

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(Image credit: Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Elon Musk told employees his plan for Twitter 2.0 involves encrypting user DMs.
  • Musk spoke with Signal's creator and former CEO Moxie Marlinspike about how to go about this with the creator seemingly interested in assisting with the process.
  • Musk also mentions wanting to offer video and voice chatting features to users through DMs.

It seems as though Elon Musk is interested in encrypting users' DMs on Twitter while also floating the thought of adding a couple of new features.

Musk's new Twitter 2.0 vision has had quite a rocky start after many of the company's remaining employees left, but the billionaire continues pushing through, per a recent meeting held at Twitter's HQ on Monday (via a recording obtained by The Verge). In the meeting, Musk expressed interest in encrypting the private messages sent from user to user on Twitter.

He stated that it "should be the case that I can’t look at anyone’s DMs if somebody has put a gun to my head." To do this, Musk has apparently spoken to the creator of the popular messaging app Signal, Moxie Marlinspike, to possibly help with the feature.

Signal is one of the best messaging apps on Android due to the fact that it has long offered end-to-end encryption. The messaging service in October announced it would soon stop supporting SMS on Android devices for security reasons. This move not only ensures the app's end-to-end encryption keeps your information secure but also assists users in receiving unwelcome messaging fees.

It appears as though their initial talks had gone well, with the former Signal CEO "potentially willing" to assist Twitter with its DM encryption software.

During the meeting, Elon stressed that he does not want users to be concerned about the privacy of their messages from parties inside or outside Twitter, particularly when it comes to data breaches.

Twitter's new CEO didn't stop there as he also expressed his interest in bringing video and voice chat to users, likely through DMs to keep conversations private. It's a feature that is surprisingly absent from the platform, given its presence on messaging apps like Messenger, Instagram, and others.

Nickolas Diaz
News Writer

Nickolas is always excited about tech and getting his hands on it. Writing for him can vary from delivering the latest tech story to scribbling in his journal. When Nickolas isn't hitting a story, he's often grinding away at a game or chilling with a book in his hand.