XChat, X’s dedicated stand-alone messaging application, was launched to the public on Friday. Initially available on iOS devices, the new app allows users to connect with their X contacts. Users can utilize it for messaging, file sharing, audio and video calls, and group chats.
Previously, X conducted public testing of XChat with a small group of beta users earlier this year to gather feedback on the new experience. The XChat app is described as a core component of the company’s strategic vision. This vision sees the social network platform as a launching point for various other services, including messaging or payments. Payments are also being tested via a separate, dedicated app, though it has not yet reached public availability.
This move represents a departure from owner Elon Musk’s earlier concept of making X an “everything app.” Instead, xAI, which owns X and is itself owned by Musk’s other company SpaceX, is now distributing a suite of apps to provide more consumer touchpoints with its services.
At its debut, the XChat app supports messaging and calling features. It also incorporates several features intended to enhance user privacy, such as the ability to edit and delete messages for all participants in the chat, support for disappearing messages, and the ability to block screenshots.
Furthermore, X claims that the app contains no ads or tracking mechanisms. The company asserts that all messages are both end-to-end encrypted and PIN protected, although security experts have previously disputed X’s encryption claims. These experts had earlier warned potential users that the XChat service appeared less secure than other encrypted messaging apps, such as Signal, when the app was first introduced.
Security experts plan to re-evaluate the dedicated XChat app now that it is broadly available, to determine if necessary improvements have been implemented. Beyond private or group chatting, XChat is also slated to become the new destination for X’s Communities, which the company has chosen to shut down due to high levels of spam and underutilization.
The timing of the Community shutdown may provide an early impetus for new installations of XChat, as community members transition to the new platform. According to X lead designer Benji Taylor, who teased that the app is “just the beginning of what we’re building for messaging,” more updates for XChat appear to be forthcoming.