Chat

Your most loyal supporters now stand out in X Chat with subscriber badges. The first of many upgrades coming soon to Creator Subscriptions 👀

X cannot read your messages. We back up your private keys to our hardware security modules (HSMs) to make recovering your message history on new devices frictionless. These HSMs were initialized in our published key ceremony: x.com/XEng/status/19… Your keys can only be recovered from the HSMs by entering your PIN correctly. The limit on the number of guesses for the PIN is set to 20 by default (this can be verified through the key fetch response and cannot be disabled after registration), after which the keys self-destruct, meaning no one at X can reliably brute force your PIN to recover your keys. We're always improving X Chat and aim to boost security even further without hurting the user experience on X. The goal of X Chat is to be the communication system for Earth. Privacy and usability are core. We offer end-to-end encrypted messages, with no ad hooks and no dependency on AWS like other messaging services. Enhanced privacy features such as opt-in self custody and forward secrecy are on our roadmap.

I like and respect Elon, and I'm grateful to be on this platform. But when he claims 𝕏 Chat is "much more secure than email," I feel obligated to explain the technical reality to my audience. That statement is true in the same way a screen door is more secure than no door. But that's not the comparison anyone should be making. 1. 𝕏 Can Read Your Messages 𝕏 recently added safety numbers, which is a step forward. But here's the catch: your private key backups are stored on 𝕏's servers. Safety numbers help detect external hackers, but they cannot protect you if 𝕏 itself or a rogue insider, or a government with a warrant. @signalapp's safety numbers work because your keys never leave your device. There is nothing for Signal to turn over, even if compelled. 2. No Forward Secrecy From 𝕏's own documentation: "If the private key of a registered device is compromised... an attacker would be able to decrypt all Encrypted Direct Messages." One key compromise exposes your entire message history. Signal's Double Ratchet generates new keys for every message. Compromise one key, you get one message. Past messages stay encrypted. This has been the standard in secure messaging for over a decade. 3. The "Juicebox" Vulnerability 𝕏 stores your private keys on their servers using a system called Juicebox. Cryptographer @matthew_d_green's analysis suggests this implementation is software-only, lacking Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). A 4-6 digit PIN does NOT help protect this. That is trivial to brute-force if 𝕏 (or an attacker with server access) disables the rate limiting. 4. Full Metadata Exposure 𝕏 explicitly states metadata isn't encrypted: who you message, when, and how often. As former NSA director Michael Hayden famously said: "We kill people based on metadata." Signal uses sealed sender technology to hide even this information. 5. NOT Open Source 𝕏 promised to open source XChat and publish a whitepaper in June 2025. Neither has happened. Signal has been open source and audited for over a decade. The Bottom Line: I'm not saying don't use 𝕏. I'm saying don't use 𝕏 Encrypted DMs for anything you wouldn't post publicly. For actual private communication, use @signalapp. It's free, works on all platforms, and the cryptography has withstood a decade of scrutiny from academics and nation-states alike.

Voice memos are returning soon – what else would you love to see in Chat?

Rolling out now on iOS and Web, Android coming soon. Update your X app to access Chat and your legacy DMs in one unified inbox.

Say hello to Chat – all-new secure messaging on X. • end-to-end encrypted chats and file sharing • edit, delete, or make messages disappear • block screenshots and get notified of attempts • no ads. no tracking. total privacy.