Twitter: Musk plans to ENCRYPT direct messages to ensure users’ privacy

Twitter’s new chief Elon Musk is planning to introduce ENCRYPT direct messages feature to ensure users’ privacy.

Elon Musk told Twitter employees Monday he wants to add video and voice call features and secure direct-messaging to the social-media platform, according to a leaked recording of an all-hands meeting obtained by The Verge.

End-to-end encryption ensures only the two participants of a chat can read messages, and no one in between – not even the company that owns the service.

Musk’s vision for Twitter was displayed in a selection of presentation slides entitled ‘Twitter 2.0’, according to staff.

Musk said he wants to make it impossible for hackers to gain access to someone’s DMs on Twitter, even in the most extreme circumstances.

‘It should be the case that I can’t look at anyone’s DMs if somebody has put a gun to my head,’ he said.

Read more: MUSK SAYS TWITTER TO HOLD OFF RELAUNCHING BLUE CHECK VERIFICATION

That same year, Twitter disclosed a bug that had made DMs accessible to third parties for more than a year.

Now, Musk, who took the reins at Twitter following his $44 billion purchase, wants to make rolling out encryption a priority.

Musk reportedly praised Signal, an app similar to WhatsApp that allows encrypted one-to-one or group messages and video calls.

The Twitter CEO said he has spoken with Signal’s creator, US security researcher and ex-Twitter employee Moxie Marlinspike, who is now ‘potentially willing to help out’ with encrypting Twitter DMs.

Much like WhatsApp, Signal uses a person’s existing phone number and address book so they don’t need logins, usernames, passwords or pins, but Musk wants Twitter to host calls without requiring the use of a phone number.

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