Tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk is ready to launch a standalone messaging app known as “X Chat” to compete with Telegram and WhatsApp, with a rollout anticipated throughout the subsequent few months.
“On X, we simply rebuilt your complete messaging stack into what’s known as ‘X Chat,’” mentioned Musk throughout The Joe Rogan Expertise podcast, which aired on Friday.
“It’s utilizing a peer-to-peer-based encryption system, type of much like Bitcoin. It’s superb encryption; we’re testing it totally.”
Musk mentioned he hopes the brand new messaging app shall be launched in a “few months,” including it gained’t have any “hooks for promoting” as he pointed to opponents like WhatsApp, which “is aware of sufficient about what you’re texting to know what advertisements to indicate you,” he mentioned.
“However then, that’s a large safety vulnerability as a result of if it is aware of sufficient data to indicate you advertisements, that’s numerous data,” he mentioned, including that hackers might use those self same “hooks” to learn non-public messages.
Does WhatsApp learn your messages?
WhatsApp’s mum or dad firm, Meta, claims it doesn’t have entry to non-public messages, explaining in its FAQ that messages between individuals are end-to-end encrypted utilizing the Sign Protocol. This additionally covers voice messages, media and paperwork.
Nevertheless, it’s understood that “metadata,” equivalent to who you chatted with and the way usually you speak with them, isn’t encrypted. WhatsApp additionally doesn’t robotically encrypt backup copies of your chat historical past.
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WhatsApp’s FAQ part on “Does WhatsApp accumulate or promote your information?” skirts answering the latter a part of the query, solely explaining that “we work with different Meta Firms to assist present, enhance and assist one another’s providers.”
“When you select to combine your WhatsApp expertise with different Meta merchandise, we are going to share some data with Meta to make this doable.”
X Chat gained’t have these hooks, says Musk
Musk promised that X Chat gained’t have these promoting “hooks.”
“I’m not saying it’s good, however our purpose with X chat is to switch what was the Twitter DM stack with a totally encrypted system the place you may textual content, ship information, do audio video calls, and I feel it is going to be the least insecure of any messaging system.”
He added that the messaging app shall be accessible as a part of the X platform and as its personal standalone app.
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