BIG challenge to Mark Zuckerberg as Elon Musk launches WhatsApp rival X Chat: All you need to know

US billionaire Elon Musk's xAI startup has launched X Chat on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. X Chat is being promoted as a privacy-focused alternative to popular platforms such as WhatsApp and the made-in-India Arattai app. The new messaging platform comes with several features to enhance the chat experience on X. Musk shared the release of the chat platform on X, which he had bought in 2022.

What are the features of X Chat?

Musk said in a post on his social media website: "X just rolled out an entire new communications stack with encrypted messages, audio/video calls and file transfer." He also opened up about his future plans for the company, saying: "X Money comes out soon...X will be the everything app." On X Chat, all messages will be end-to-end encrypted, including file sharing, much like WhatsApp. This means that no one, except for the sender and the receiver, can access the message content. Users can also edit, delete, or make messages disappear after sending. Unlike on WhatsApp and other platforms, deleted messages will not show a 'this message was deleted' remark and will vanish completely. Besides, users will also get the option to disable screenshots on X Chat. The platform also promises to carry no ads and says it will not track user data.

How can you use X Chat?

X Chat is currently available on iOS and the web via the direct message (DM) section on your X account. The company says that the messaging service will soon be rolled out for Android devices.