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 rollout expected within the next few months.
“At X, we just built the entire messaging stack on what’s called ‘x chat,'” Musk said while The Joe Rogan experience Podcast, which aired on Friday.
“It uses a peer-to-peer based encryption system, kind of like Bitcoin. Very good encryption; we’re testing it thoroughly.”
Musk said he expects the new messaging app to be released in “a few months,” adding that it won’t have any “hooks for advertising” as he points to competitors like WhatsApp, which “knows enough about what you’re texting to know what ads to show you,” he said.
“But then, that’s a huge security vulnerability 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.
Has whatsapp read your messages?
Whatsapp’s parent company, Meta, claims It does not have access to private messages, explaining in the FAQ that messages between people are end-to-end encrypted using the signal protocol. It also covers voice messages, media and documents.
However, it is understood that “metadata,” such as who you chat with and how often you talk to them, is not encrypted. WhatsApp also does not automatically encrypt backup copies of your chat history.
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The WhatsApp FAQ section on “Does WhatsApp collect or sell your data?” Skirts answering the last part of the question, simply explaining that “we work with other meta companies to help provide, improve and support each other’s services.”
“If you choose to integrate your WhatsApp experience with other meta products, we will share some information with Meta to do so.”
X Chat won’t have these hooks, Musk said
Musk promises that X chat will 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 video calls, and I think it’s going to be the least insecure of any messaging system.”
He added that the messaging app will be available as part of the X platform and as its own standalone app.
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