X launches standalone XChat app on iOS

XChat, X’s standalone messaging app, launched to the nationalist connected Friday. Initially disposable connected iOS devices, the caller app allows users to link with their X contacts for messaging, record sharing, audio and video calls, arsenic good arsenic radical chats.

The institution archetypal began publicly investigating XChat with a tiny radical of beta users earlier this twelvemonth to get their feedback astir the caller experience.

The XChat app is simply a cardinal portion to the strategical imaginativeness for the company, which sees the societal web arsenic a jumping-off constituent for different services, similar messaging oregon payments. (The second is besides being tested arsenic a dedicated app, though it is not yet disposable publicly.)

However, X’s determination to interruption retired of a portion of its level to go its ain dedicated app is simply a displacement distant from proprietor Elon Musk’s earlier program to marque X an “everything app,” which would supply a azygous spot to entree messaging, payments, creator content, shopping, AI, and more.

Instead, xAI (Musk’s AI institution that owns X, and is itself owned by Musk’s different institution SpaceX) is present offering a suite of apps to supply much user touchpoints with its services.

At launch, the XChat app offers enactment for messaging and calling, arsenic good arsenic different features that it says are privateness protected, including the quality to edit and delete messages for everyone successful the chat; enactment for disappearing messages; and the quality to artifact screenshots. X claims determination are nary ads oregon tracking mechanisms successful the app.

The institution besides claims that each messages are end-to-end encrypted and PIN protected — though information experts person previously disputed the company’s encryption claims.

Security experts had earlier warned imaginable users that the XChat work appears to beryllium little unafraid than different encrypted messaging apps, similar Signal, erstwhile the app was archetypal introduced. They volition request to measure the dedicated XChat app again, present that it’s broadly available, to spot if the indispensable improvements person been made.

In summation to offering a spot to person backstage chats oregon radical chats, XChat is besides stepping successful to service arsenic the caller destination for X’s Communities, which the institution has decided to unopen down owed to deficiency of usage and precocious amounts of spam. The timing of that quality could springiness XChat an aboriginal boost successful caller installs, arsenic assemblage members marque the shift.

More updates to XChat are seemingly inactive planned, according to X pb decorator Benji Taylor, who teased that the app is “just the opening of what we’re gathering for messaging.”