Twitter to Get Encrypted Messages, Audio, Video Calling, Features

Elon Musk took over Twitter last year and promised to make radical changes to the way one of the world's most used platforms operates.

The Twitter Chief Executive on Tuesday revealed details about new features including adding calls and encrypted messaging coming to the platform.

Last year, Musk flagged plans for "Twitter 2.0 The Everything App", which he said would have features such as encrypted direct messages (DMs), long-form tweets, and payments.

"Coming soon will be voice and video chat from your handle to anyone on this platform, so you can talk to people anywhere in the world without giving them your phone number," Musk said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The call feature on Twitter will bring the micro-blogging platform into line with the likes of Meta's social media applications, Facebook and Instagram, which have similar features.

Musk said a version of encrypted direct messages will be available on Twitter starting Wednesday, but did not say if calls will be encrypted.

Twitter this week said it will start a cleansing process by removing and archiving accounts that have been inactive for several years.

It was not immediately known if or how Twitter users will be able to access archived accounts.

Musk also said users on the micro-blogging platform could see a drop in follower count, as several inactive accounts might get removed.

According to Twitter's policy, users should log in to their account at least once every 30 days to avoid permanent removal due to prolonged inactivity.

Earlier this month, Musk "threatened" to reassign National Public Radio's Twitter account to another company, after the public broadcaster stopped posting content to its 52 official Twitter feeds in protest against a Twitter label that implied government involvement in its editorial content. © Reuters

May 10, 2023