X Pauses Encrypted DMs: What You Need to Know

X Pauses Encrypted Direct Messages for Enhancements

Social network X announced on Thursday a temporary suspension of its end-to-end encrypted Direct Messages (DMs) functionality. This pause is being implemented to facilitate necessary improvements to the system.

According to a statement from the platform’s engineering team, posted on X itself, users will retain access to previously sent and received encrypted messages.

Initial Rollout and Musk's Vision

However, the ability to initiate new encrypted message threads has been disabled. The company has not yet provided a specific timeframe for when this feature will be reinstated.

Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now X, he articulated plans for a significant transformation of the direct messaging system.

The stated goal was to position X as a competitor to privacy-centric messaging applications like Signal.

Limitations of the Current Implementation

The encrypted DM feature was initially launched in 2023, but was limited to users with verified accounts.

Despite offering encryption, the initial version presented several limitations.

• Group chats were not supported with encryption.
• Encryption was only applied to text and links, excluding media files.
• The system lacked defenses against potential man-in-the-middle attacks.
• Encrypted conversations were not synchronized across multiple devices.

These drawbacks are likely contributing factors to the current pause, as X aims to deliver a more robust and secure encrypted messaging experience.