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X's DM feature is getting rebranded as XChat, which sounds like an adult messaging service.
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Chance Townsend
Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments
Currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
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Elon Musk’s steady mission to erase every trace of Twitter’s former identity continues — and the next feature on the chopping block appears to be Direct Messages. According to rumblings from X employees and independent researchers, the classic DM tab may soon be replaced by something called XChat.
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Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk call to delete IP laws, but artists are pushing backThe change was first hinted at by Zach Warunek, a software engineer at X, who responded to a user reporting issues with DM message requests. Warunek stated that the page would be “deleted soon." He clarified that the existing DM tab would be removed entirely, not just the requests section.
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App researcher and web dev Nima Owji backed up that theory when he reported on X that XChat is already being used internally by X employees. Based on screenshot leaks from another X user, it seems XChat is being positioned as a full-fledged WhatsApp competitor — complete with encrypted messaging, file sharing (including PDFs), disappearing messages, unread status toggles, message deletion for everyone (not just you), and voice messages (sometime after launch).
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If you're curious, Owji also shared a screenshot of XChat, though we can't independently verify that it's genuine. At a glance, the biggest difference we see is the addition of a PIN-verification tab.
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This move aligns with Musk’s broader vision of turning X into an all-in-one platform. Back in February, the X CEO stated that he eventually plans to stop using a phone number altogether, opting to handle all texts and calls exclusively through X.
There’s no official release date for XChat yet, but several employees openly discussing the feature on X suggest its rollout is imminent.
Topics Social Media X/Twitter
Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments
Currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and finds great enjoyment in Detroit sports.
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