X launches encrypted Chat app

X has launched a new secure messaging feature called Chat, offering end-to-end encrypted conversations and file sharing.

Users can edit, delete, or set messages to disappear, and the service includes screenshot blocking, with notifications for attempted captures.

X said the feature will not include ads or tracking.

The company did not disclose when Chat will be available to all users or provide details on its rollout.

🔗 Source: X

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Both parties must pay for X’s Chat before encryption works, which leaves out journalists and activists 1.
X says it lacks defenses against man-in-the-middle attacks, so a rogue insider or X under a court order could compromise messages 2.
Attachments like videos or photos sit unencrypted on X’s servers, while metadata on who talks to whom plus timing stays exposed 1.
Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) is missing, so if a private key leaks all past messages can be decrypted 1.
Private keys, the codes that decrypt messages, rely on a 4-digit PIN (personal identification number) and sit on X’s servers with no verified Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) raising insider risk 1.

Since 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plus the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have fined firms over $3.5 billion for recordkeeping failures on unauthorized encrypted apps like WhatsApp or Signal 3.
JPMorgan paid $200 million after staff used WhatsApp for business chat, which violated federal recordkeeping rules 3. Probes later hit Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Citigroup for $1.8 billion 3.
Regulators expect firms to enforce communication policies with tech controls that block unauthorized apps 3.
X’s Chat launch could add compliance risk if employees use it for work 3. That opens room for mobile device management, electronic communications (eComms) archiving, or policy vendors to capture or block it on work devices 3.