Twitter is officially starting to roll out support for encrypted direct messages (DM) on the platform, more than six months after its chief executive Elon Musk confirmed plans for the feature in November 2022.
“Phase 1” of the initiative will appear as separate conversations alongside existing direct messages in users’ inboxes. Encrypted chats are badged with a padlock icon to visually differentiate them.
That said, the activation feature is currently limited to verified users or affiliated with a verified organization. It’s also essential that both the sender and recipient are on the latest versions of the Twitter apps on Android, iOS, and the desktop web.
That said, the feature is currently limited to verified users or affiliated with a verified organization. It’s also essential that both the sender and recipient are on the latest versions of the Twitter apps on Android, iOS, and the desktop web.
Another criterion for sending and receiving encrypted messages is that the recipient must follow the sender, have sent a message to the sender in the past, or accepted a direct message request from the sender at some point.
While Twitter did not disclose the exact method it uses to protect messages, the company said it uses a “combination of strong cryptographic schemes” to encrypt users’ messages, links and reactions.
He further emphasized that encrypted chat content remains encrypted while stored on its infrastructure, which is then decrypted at the receiving end. The implementation is expected to be open sourced by the end of the year.
That said, the work-in-progress nature of the project also means that it does not support encrypted group chats or exchange media and other attachments. Some other notable restrictions are as follows:
- Users can only register a maximum of 10 devices to send and receive encrypted messages.
- New devices (where the Twitter app is reinstalled) cannot participate in existing encrypted conversations
- If you sign out of Twitter, all messages, including encrypted DMs, will be deleted from your current device
He also said that the current architecture does not “provide protections against man-in-the-middle attacks” and does not guarantee direct secrecy, a crucial security measure that ensures that the compromise of a single key session will not affect data shared in other sessions.
“If a registered device’s private key were compromised, an attacker could decrypt all encrypted messages sent and received by that device,” Twitter said, adding that it does not plan to fix the limitation by keeping one more user big experience in mind.
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Twitter is rolling out the newest level of security for its social media platform, announcing that it is introducing end-to-end encryption for direct messages. The new feature will only be available to verified Twitter users initially, but it will be extended to everyone soon. This is an exciting step forward in providing users with more privacy and security options.
The move by Twitter is also seen as part of the company’s larger effort to enhance the safety of its users and to protect their identity and data. With the new encryption, Twitter will use an encryption key to encrypt the messages and makes it hard to decrypt the messages – even if they were intercepted.
In an era where privacy is becoming more and more of an important factor in how people interact online, companies like Twitter must stay ahead of the curve in order to make sure their users have the security and protection they need. It’s great to see that Twitter is taking the initiative to offer encrypted direct messages.
At Ikaroa, we understand that security and privacy is essential for online users, especially for those on social media platforms. We work hard to provide our clients with the most updated technologies and encryption protocols available. Twitter’s decision to extend encryption to direct messages is an effort that we fully support. We look forward to seeing how this move will benefit Twitter’s users and help make social media interactions more secure.
