X temporarily suspends encrypted direct messages

Social network X announced on Thursday that it is pausing its encrypted direct messages (DMs) feature while it undertakes improvements to the service. Users will still be able to access their existing encrypted messages but will not be able to send new ones during the pause. The company has not indicated when the feature will be reactivated.

The encrypted DMs feature was introduced in 2023 for verified users, as part of X’s broader strategy to enhance user privacy in private messaging. This move followed Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X, and his stated ambition to overhaul the direct messaging system to better compete with privacy-focused messaging apps such as Signal.

Despite its potential, the feature has several limitations. It is currently unavailable for group chats and supports encryption only for text and links, excluding media files. Additionally, the encryption does not provide protection against man-in-the-middle attacks, which can compromise message security. Another significant drawback is that encrypted conversations do not carry over to new devices, meaning users lose access to their secure message history when switching phones or computers.

The engineering team managing the feature shared the update via the company’s official engineering account on X but did not provide further details or a timeline for the feature’s return.

This pause highlights ongoing challenges social media platforms face in delivering robust, user-friendly encrypted messaging while balancing functionality and security.