Musk says Twitter to soon allow calls, encrypted messaging

Twitter Chief Executive Elon Musk on Tuesday (May 9) 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.

In a subsequent comment on Twitter, Musk contended that the WhatsApp messaging service operated by Meta "cannot be trusted."

Since buying Twitter for US$44 billion late last year, Musk has implemented changes in seemingly impulsive ways, sometimes causing chaos for users.

The Twitter boss has talked publicly about building an all-purpose "X" application that combines messages, payments and more.

Musk recently made the tech firm part of an "X" shell corporation, getting rid of the Twitter company name but continuing to use it for the service.