Elon Musk Launches XChat: Encrypted Messaging Without Phone Numbers

What distinguishes XChat, however, is that it doesn’t require users to link their phone numbers, enhancing both user privacy and global accessibility. Instead, the system is tied to users’ X handles, allowing device-independent communication across the web and mobile apps. This approach removes a key data point often exploited for surveillance and spam, reinforcing the platform’s privacy-first orientation.

XChat’s security architecture is built on what Musk referred to as “Bitcoin-style” encryption — specifically, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), a highly efficient method of securing messages using small key sizes. ECC is widely used in cryptocurrency wallets due to its strength and speed, and it allows XChat to offer robust protection without compromising performance.

While ECC is secure under current computing standards, some cryptographers have raised concerns about its long-term viability in the face of future quantum computing advancements. Nonetheless, its adoption signals a serious attempt by Musk and his engineering team to give users a messaging system that doesn’t merely compete on convenience, but on uncompromised security.

As with many new features under Musk’s leadership, XChat is being rolled out first to X Premium subscribers. These paid users are often used as a testing ground for features before they reach the wider user base. The company has not yet indicated when (or if) XChat will be available for free-tier users.

The development of XChat marks the culmination of a project that originally began in 2023, when encrypted DMs were quietly introduced and then paused for improvement.

The launch of XChat is not an isolated event; it fits squarely within Musk’s wider strategy of turning X into a multipurpose digital hub. Inspired by China’s WeChat, Musk has hinted at plans to incorporate digital banking, payments, dating services, and content streaming into the platform. XChat lays the foundational infrastructure for these services by establishing a private, secure, and universal communication layer.

Musk has repeatedly stated that digital communication and financial services should be seamlessly integrated. In recent months, X has applied for multiple money transmitter licenses across U.S. states, indicating an imminent entry into the payments space.

The timing of the XChat launch also follows closely on the heels of a major partnership between Musk’s xAI and Telegram. xAI is investing $300 million into Telegram to embed its AI chatbot Grok into the messaging platform. Telegram, which boasts over 900 million monthly users, is expected to receive 50% of all Grok-related revenue on its platform.

This deal reflects Musk’s multi-platform strategy to expand the reach of his technologies beyond X. Grok, known for its sharp wit and offbeat tone, will offer features like summarizing conversations, generating stickers, writing assistance, and moderating channels on Telegram — and possibly soon on XChat as well.

As with many new tech rollouts, questions about privacy loom large. While Musk has promised that XChat’s end-to-end encryption ensures only users can read their messages, the platform has yet to publish a detailed whitepaper or open-source its encryption protocol — a move standard among privacy-first apps like Signal and Proton.

Moreover, legal experts caution that encrypted platforms, particularly those offering anonymous use, are likely to face increasing scrutiny from regulators, especially in jurisdictions like the EU and the U.S. where digital surveillance concerns remain high on the agenda.

The messaging space is already crowded with well-established apps including WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, and Telegram. But Musk believes XChat can carve out a niche by offering a fully integrated communication experience within a broader social and financial platform.

By linking communication, content, finance, and AI under one roof, X is aiming to be more than just a social media platform — it wants to become the gateway through which users conduct much of their digital life.

Whether this will work remains to be seen. The initial reception to XChat has been mixed, with some users applauding the new features and others expressing concern about privacy transparency and platform stability. But what’s clear is that Musk is not building incrementally — he’s aiming for a complete redefinition of what digital platforms can be.