X, the social network owned by Elon Musk, is preparing a major expansion of its ecosystem. Starting April 17, iPhone and iPad owners will be able to install XChat—a standalone messaging app designed to transform the platform's personal messages into a full-fledged messenger on par with Telegram, WhatsApp, or Signal. Initially, the product will be exclusive to Apple devices, with no Android version planned in the near future.
According to the official description, the app will support end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only participants in a conversation can access the messages. XChat's functionality includes a standard set of modern communication services: voice and video calls, group chats, document sharing, as well as the ability to edit and delete already sent messages. A key advantage is claimed to be the complete absence of advertising and tracking.
Elon Musk emphasizes that XChat will become an important element of the "app for everything" concept. In the future, the messenger could gain deep integration with X's payment systems, allowing users to conduct financial transactions directly within chats. The app's design is executed in a restrained style, with the main focus on the convenience of managing active conversations.
Despite loud claims about protecting privacy, the announcement has sparked a wave of criticism from security experts. The main complaint lies in the discrepancy between declarations of privacy and actual data collection methods. It has been revealed that the service correlates a wide array of information with a user's profile: from geolocation and contact lists to search history and data from the personal page on the main social network.
Unlike Signal, which is considered the gold standard of privacy and hardly stores metadata, XChat has not yet presented technical documentation of its encryption protocol. Without independent security audits and the publication of open-source code, claims of complete protection remain merely marketing promises. For comparison, WhatsApp also uses end-to-end encryption but openly collects metadata about the timing and frequency of user communications.
Currently, the market is divided between convenience and security. Signal is chosen by those for whom anonymity is an absolute priority, while WhatsApp remains the most widespread tool due to its reach of 2 billion users. XChat has the potential to become a serious competitor if it offers transparent encryption standards and seamless integration with X's services. However, until official security checks are conducted by specialists, Musk's platform is perceived more as a promising experiment than as a trusted tool for confidential communication.
Source: podrobno.uz