Twitter CEO Elon Musk has announced new features that will allow users of the social media platform to make voice and video calls, marking a new entrant in the chat and instant messaging business.
Musk, who has been exploring ways to make Twitter better and profitable since he acquired the platform late last year, said the latest changes, which include encrypted message, will come with the latest version of Twitter that will be released on Wednesday.
“With latest version of app, you can DM reply to any message in the thread (not just most recent) and use any emoji reaction.
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“Release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow. This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to my head.
“Coming soon will be voice and video chat from your handle to anyone on this platform, so you can talk to people anywhere in the world without giving them your phone number,” Musk said.
With latest version of app, you can DM reply to any message in the thread (not just most recent) and use any emoji reaction.
Release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow. This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
This new feature means that WhatsApp, which dominates the instant messaging industry with more than 2 billion monthly users globally, has a new competitor. Twitter has about 400 million monthly users; a huge number that analysts believe can disrupt the status quo.
Musk said Tuesday that WhatsApp cannot be trusted as allegations mount that the chat app has been spying on users.
WhatsApp cannot be trusted https://t.co/3gdNxZOLLy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
Musk has maintained that he bought Twitter mainly to promote free speech by making it the platform that upholds truth and gives everyone uncensored liberty to speak.
“On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said,” Musk said on Wednesday in response to a video posted by Tucker Carlson, which called the mainstream media out for lies, propaganda and manipulations. Musk added that anything misleading on Twitter will get @CommunityNotes
However, while Twitter users have applauded some of the new features, Musk has acknowledged that the company has been under severe financial strains and was close to bankruptcy – underscoring the need for more revenue generation – especially as newly-made changes sparked mass exodus of advertisers from the platform.
The billionaire has made several changes on Twitter, including the monetization of verification marks that resulted in removal of blue ticks under the legacy verification, to generate more revenue.
One of Musk’s biggest moves so far is the incorporation of Twitter into his everything app dubbed X. An idea he plans to develop by also making Twitter a payment platform.
Put politics and hysteria aside, no one else other than Musk can build a better Twitter, but the world is not very much attuned to applauding reason and good thinking, because emotion is very powerful.
Even those who want to kill us can still give us options, so that we can choose either our poison or stupidity wisely.
Let the competition continue…