Elon Musk to Launch X Chat Messenger Within Months

Tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk is set to launch a standalone messaging app called “X Chat” to compete with Telegram and WhatsApp, with a launch expected in the next few months.

“On X, we’ve just rebuilt the entire message stack into what’s called ‘X Chat,'” he said Musk during The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that aired on Friday.

“It uses a peer-to-peer encryption system, similar to Bitcoin. It’s very good encryption; we test it thoroughly.”

Musk said he hopes for a new messaging app will be released in “a few months,” adding that it won’t have any “advertising hooks,” as he pointed to competitors like WhatsApp, which “knows enough about what you’re sending to know what ads to show you,” he said.

“But then it’s a huge security flaw because if it knows enough information to show you ads, that’s a lot of information,” he said, adding that hackers could use the same “hooks” to read private messages.

Does WhatsApp read your messages?

WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, claims does not have access to private messages and explains in its FAQ that messages between people are encrypted end-to-end using Signal Protocol. This also includes voice messages, media and documents.

However, it is understood that “metadata” such as who were you talking to and how often you talk to them isn’t encrypted. WhatsApp also does not automatically encrypt backup copies of your chat history.

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WhatsApp’s FAQ section on “Does WhatsApp collect or sell your data?” skirt answers the second part of the question, explaining only that “we work with other Meta companies to help each other provide, improve and support our services.”

“If you choose to integrate your WhatsApp experience with other Meta products, we will share some information with Meta to make this possible.”

X Chat won’t have those hooks, Musk says

Musk promised that X Chat would not have these advertising “hooks”.

“I’m not saying it’s perfect, but our goal with X chat is to replace what used to be the Twitter DM stack with a fully encrypted system where you can text, send files, make audio video calls, and I think it will be the least insecure of all messaging systems.”

He added that the messaging app will be available as part of the X platform and as its own standalone app.