Twitter launches encrypted DMs – but Elon Musk warns users NOT to trust the WhatsApp feature yet

Elon Musk has warned Twitter users that the new WhatsApp-style feature should not be trusted – following its launch yesterday.

Encrypted messages were released Wednesday as part of Twitter’s goal to become the “most trusted platform on the web.”

But Musk has now emphasized that the privacy feature “isn’t quite there yet,” despite his initial jokes that he couldn’t view messages even with a “gun to.” [his] head’.

Twitter said, “As Elon Musk said, when it comes to direct messages, the norm should be that if someone puts a gun to our head, we still can’t access your messages. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working on it.’

Encryption converts messages into coded text that cannot be read by anyone except the intended recipient.

Platforms such as WhatsApp use this to protect personal privacy, so that messages, images and videos are less likely to fall into the wrong hands.

But unlike the free version of WhatsApp, Musk’s company charges users over £100/year to use this feature, which is only part of Twitter Blue.

For businesses, it’s £795 plus additional fees for affiliates.

This morning, Musk tweeted, “Early version of encrypted direct messages just launched. Try it, but don’t trust it yet.’

Twitter’s own feature doesn’t yet protect users from “man-in-the-middle attacks,” meaning malicious insiders can compromise encrypted conversations.

These attacks can go completely unnoticed, with the sender or receiver never knowing that a hack has occurred.

While the tech giant is currently working to fix this, it comes just days after Musk tweeted that “WhatsApp cannot be trusted.”

It was in response to a claim on Twitter that Mark Zuckerberg’s app is listening to users, after one person discovered WhatsApp was accessing their phone’s microphone while they slept.

In response, WhatsApp blamed “a bug on Android,” but it didn’t stop Musk from using the claim as another opportunity to investigate the platform and its rival Zuckerberg.

Meanwhile, videos and images cannot be sent using Twitter’s encryption tool, which also allows viewing of recipients’ data.

Twitter continued: “An encrypted message can only contain text and links; media and other attachments are not yet supported. When users attempt to send media through an encrypted conversation, this action is not completed.

‘Responses to encrypted messages are also encrypted. Even though messages themselves are encrypted, metadata (recipient, creation time, etc.) are not, nor is the linked content (only the links themselves, not the content they point to, are encrypted).’

The feature’s launch followed Musk’s announcement earlier this week, which revealed that video and voice chat features would be coming to the platform “soon.”

This is part of Musk’s goal of making Twitter an “Everything App,” with a range of other features, such as payments and long tweets.

But the launch of encrypted tweets came at a risky time for the UK, with the government’s online safety law on the horizon.

This legislation is pushing tech giants to take more responsibility to find and remove illegal content on their platforms.

But WhatsApp is one of many organizations that has written an open letter against its intentions.

“As an end-to-end encrypted communications service, we are urging the UK Government to address the risks the Online Safety Act poses to everyone’s privacy and security. It is not too late to ensure that the bill is consistent with the government’s intent to protect end-to-end encryption and respect the human right to privacy.

“Around the world, businesses, individuals and governments face ongoing threats from online fraud, scams and data theft. Malicious actors and hostile states routinely challenge the security of our critical infrastructure.

“End-to-end encryption is one of the strongest possible defenses against these threats, and as vital institutions increasingly rely on internet technologies to conduct core business, the stakes have never been higher.”

How this will affect Twitter’s future is currently uncertain, but Global Cybersecurity Advisor, Jake Moore, believes the UK will never ban encrypted messages.

He told MailOnline yesterday, “As more and more people become privacy conscious online, there is naturally more demand for encrypted direct messaging and Twitter is essentially being forced to add this feature.

“Without the use of encrypted messages, employees and advertisers have the ability to read people’s messages, which while Twitter can make a lot of money, can pose a huge security risk to those involved.

“I don’t think the Online Safety Bill will ever be able to eradicate encrypted messages because of the essential requirement of this feature to protect private communications.

“The OSB can try further, but I don’t see this happening. Many other big tech companies suggest that they would pull out of the UK if such policies were introduced, which would have far greater consequences.’

The coding changes also come amid countless others Musk made during his time at Twitter.

Just three days ago, Musk announced plans to “clean up” inactive accounts on Twitter, sparking backlash from countless social media users.

Less than a month prior, Twitter’s CEO also removed the old blue ticks from the platform, raising fears of misinformation.

Mr. Moore believes that too many changes can end up driving loyal fans away.

He said: “Twitter’s competitors are already completely engrossed in encrypted messaging and voice and video chat functionality, so this is the next obvious step.

As the numbers go, names like Meta, Snap, and TikTok dominate Twitter, and so in order to recoup some of the losses incurred in purchasing the site, Musk needs to align the platform as a better rival.

However, too many changes can have the opposite effect and drive away more loyal fans, as we’ve seen before. Many other sites similar to Twitter, such as BlueSky and Mastadon, are just waiting on the sidelines for users to migrate over.

“So Musk will have to be careful not to spoil the essence of what made the platform what it is today.”