Elon Musk has made a series of controversial decisions since taking over Twitter, including the addition of a new Blue subscription offering that allows everyone to get verified after paying a monthly fee of $7.99. While the company has temporarily halted its new verification system until November 29, it is currently busy working on a new feature to secure messaging on the platform.
As spotted by famed reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, Twitter is currently working on end-to-end encryption for Direct Messages (DMs) to create a secure environment in the Twitter inbox. This would mean no one, including Twitter itself, can intercept and read the messages you send and receive.
Wong spotted signs of the feature being worked on for Twitter for Android, but it will surely not be limited to Android users. The reverse engineer has also shared the prototype of the end-to-end encrypted DMs "Encryption keys" screen. As per the description given on the screen, end-to-end encryption is guaranteed if your encryption keys match the number in the recipient"s phone.
Early prototype of Twitter’s upcoming end-to-end encrypted DMs “Encryption keys” screen: https://t.co/rcnd7h68lO pic.twitter.com/EMXSlI188j
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
This is not the first time Twitter has started working on end-to-end encryption for DMs. Evidence of the company working on it was spotted way back in 2018, but for some reason, it never materialized. Elon Musk"s wink emoji in reply to Wong"s tweet is a testament that, this time, the company is seriously considering bringing more secure messaging to Twitter DMs.
It is not clear at the moment if it will be a premium feature, nor does Wong"s tweet mention anything related to its possible launch window. But if end-to-end encryption becomes part of the Twitter Blue offering, many might consider buying a paid subscription for this reason alone. We will get more clarity on this in the future, hopefully.