WhatsApp and iMessage competitor: Elon Musk announces new Vchat messenger

By Alimat Aliyeva

Elon Musk has unveiled a new secure messaging service called XChat, aiming to transform X (formerly Twitter) into a comprehensive communication platform.

The new feature is positioned as a direct competitor to established messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage, with a strong emphasis on privacy, file sharing, and cross-platform calling.

According to Musk, XChat was developed entirely from scratch using Rust, a modern programming language praised for its performance and memory safety. One of the standout features is the use of Bitcoin-style encryption, which adds a unique layer of security inspired by blockchain technology. Thanks to end-to-end encryption, all conversations on XChat remain fully private — visible only to the sender and recipient — making it nearly impossible for third parties, including the platform itself, to access message content.

XChat is currently available to a limited group of beta testers, with a wider rollout planned in the near future, although no official launch date has been provided yet. This announcement marks a sharp pivot from X's earlier decision to abandon encrypted direct messaging — signaling a complete overhaul of the company’s messaging infrastructure.

Beyond messaging, XChat is part of Musk’s broader vision to evolve X into a “super app” — a single, unified platform that combines social networking, digital payments, media sharing, and private communication, much like China’s WeChat. If successful, this could redefine how users interact online, streamlining daily digital life into a single ecosystem.

Tech analysts note that Musk's move could position XChat as a key player in future Web3-style applications, potentially integrating with decentralized identity systems or even blockchain-based finance tools. It also raises questions about how traditional messaging apps will adapt to increasing pressure to innovate in both functionality and security.