X Launches XChat Standalone Messaging App for iOS

XChat, X's standalone messaging app, launched to the public on Friday. Initially available on iOS devices, the new app allows users to connect with their X contacts for messaging, file sharing, audio and video calls, as well as group chats. The company first began publicly testing XChat with a small group of beta users earlier this year to get their feedback about the new experience. The XChat app is a key piece to the strategic vision for the company, which sees the social network as a jumping-off point for other services, like messaging or payments. (The latter is also being tested as a dedicated app, though it is not yet available publicly.) However, X's decision to break out of a piece of its platform to become its own dedicated app is a shift away from owner Elon Musk's earlier plan to make X an "everything app," which would provide a single place to access messaging, payments, creator content, shopping, AI, and more. Instead, xAI (Musk's AI company that owns X, and is itself owned by Musk's other company SpaceX) is now offering a suite of apps to provide more consumer touchpoints with its services. At launch, the XChat app offers support for messaging and calling, as well as other features that it says are privacy protected, including the ability to edit and delete messages for everyone in the chat; support for disappearing messages; and the ability to block screenshots. X claims there are no ads or tracking mechanisms in the app. The company also claims that all messages are end-to-end encrypted and PIN protected — though security experts have previously disputed the company's encryption claims. Security experts had earlier warned potential users that the XChat service appears to be less secure than other encrypted messaging apps, like Signal, when the app was first introduced. They will need to evaluate the dedicated XChat app again, now that it's broadly available, to see if the necessary improvements have been made. In addition to offering a place to have private chats or group chats, XChat is also stepping in to serve as the new destination for X's Communities, which the company has decided to shut down due to lack of use and high amounts of spam. The timing of that news could give XChat an early boost in new installs, as community members make the shift.