Twitter explored the possibility of encrypting direct message data long before Musk’s takeover, to the point of reaching the prototype stage in 2018. The project seems to have stopped there, at least as far as management is concerned. of Twitter before Musk. Twitter’s encryption seems to have taken a leap forward from Musk, however.
Developer Jane Manchun Wong spotted the basic code structure for end-to-end encryption in November 2022. Wong then tagged Musk, who responded with a blinking emoji. He has since confirmed that Twitter plans to roll out encrypted DMs in March 2023.
Twitter brings back end-to-end encrypted DMs
See signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android: https://t.co/YtOPHH3ntD pic.twitter.com/5VODYt3ChK
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
Although Musk said the company “aims” to roll out encrypted messaging this month, it’s possible we could see that timeline pushed back further. Twitter is notoriously only operating with a fraction of the staff it once had due to mass layoffs and a general exodus of employees following the Musk acquisition in late October. The rapid downsizing has reportedly left many teams gutted while the remaining employees face long hours in an effort to meet Musk’s ambitious, if not inhuman, deadlines for projects and changes.