首日测评“马斯克版微信”XChat：比预想的还拉

Original｜Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜Wenser (@wenser 2010 )

After nearly a year of anticipation, XChat—originally scheduled for release on April 17, then postponed to April 23 and then April 24—billed as a "Western WeChat" concept, has finally made its debut. However, contrary to many people's expectations, although XChat just launched with a focus on "encrypted communication," its messaging experience isn't much different from X (Twitter) direct messages.

Odaily Planet Daily was among the first to review this social app that Musk has high hopes for, and we uncovered some "interesting" aspects. Welcome to join us in evaluating whether it can become the next dark horse in Western social media after Facebook and Instagram (Threads).

Interesting Point No.1: End-to-End Encryption Riding on BTC's Coattails?

Last June, when Musk first teased XChat, he stated that the X platform would soon release a new version of its chat tool, XChat, which would support end-to-end encryption, disappearing messages, sending arbitrary files, and audio/video calling features.

Furthermore, he emphasized that XChat is developed using the Rust language, incorporates an encryption architecture similar to Bitcoin, and its entire structure has been completely overhauled. Users can make voice/video calls across all platforms without needing a phone number (Doesn't it feel a bit like WeChat voice/video?).

Although subsequent crypto practitioners and cryptographers pointed out that Bitcoin's core blockchain functionality isn't traditional encryption, calling Musk's claims "pure buzzword chasing."

In summary, XChat's communication encryption technology and BTC's cryptographic technology cannot be said to be identical; they are essentially unrelated.

Interesting Point No.2: No Ads, Aiming to Be "One of the Most Secure Communication Systems"

On November 2 last year, Musk appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" (Note from Odaily Planet Daily: This podcast has an annual income of up to $250 million and is one of the highest-rated radio podcasts in the US) for a deep 3-hour conversation.

During the podcast, Musk indicated that he believes the US is a society eroded by "mind viruses," which was his original motivation for acquiring Twitter. His goal is to "let the truth speak out" and to build a secure social communication platform (i.e., XChat).

His exact words were: "I don't think any communication system can be said to be 'absolutely secure'; it's just varying degrees of insecurity. XChat uses a 'peer-to-peer encryption system,' somewhat similar to Bitcoin's technology, which is highly resistant to attacks. We are also conducting comprehensive tests. XChat has no advertising hooks, whereas other communication apps like WhatsApp have ads designed to induce clicks. They collect your chat information to serve targeted ads. This is a huge security vulnerability—if an app can collect enough information to serve ads, it means it's collecting a lot of private data. They say 'don't worry, it's just clickbait ads,' but others can also exploit this inducement to view your information. XChat has no advertising-related features whatsoever.

I won't say it's absolutely perfect, but our goal is for XChat to replace the old Twitter DM, becoming a fully encrypted system, and I believe it will be 'one of the most secure communication systems.'

Currently, this seems to be achieved, as XChat is so barebones it has no other pages, only the [Chat] page.

Interesting Point No.3: Screenshot Blocking Feature Glitch (?)

Before XChat's launch, many were highly interested in its "screenshot blocking" feature. Based on previous beta versions and the launched app settings, this feature is optional.

However, according to my personal testing, even after enabling it, direct screenshots seem possible in the XChat group chat interface, but the screenshot only shows the group avatar, not the chat content. In contrast, taking a screenshot in the X platform group interface displays "This chat is protected and cannot be screenshotted."

Display after screenshot operation in X platform group chat

Display after screenshot operation in XChat group chat

Specific path: [Group] - [Click group avatar] - [Block screenshots] - [On/Off].

Interesting Point No.4: Supports 45 Languages, Age Rating 16+

According to App Store information, XChat supports 45 languages including Chinese, German, Japanese, Russian, and Korean. Additionally, its user age rating is 16+, meaning it "contains profanity or crude humor, sexual content or nudity; unrestricted web access, information, and chat." In comparison, WeChat has an age rating of 13+. From this perspective, XChat's boundaries are somewhat broader.

Attached is the detailed App Store age rating description:

18+ requirement seems somewhat broad

Interesting Point No.5: Login Requires Verified X Account Email

Contrary to pre-launch speculation, the XChat login homepage requires verifying the email associated with your X platform account. If you don't remember which email is linked to your X account, you can check [Settings and Privacy] - [Your Account] - [Account Information]. If you previously enabled 2FA, you'll also need to enter a 6-digit verification code.

Although I'm not entirely sure why this step is necessary. Is it for easier user email outreach later? Or for KYC compliance? That remains unclear for now.

First glance upon entering XChat

Interesting Point No.6: Encryption Just for Show?

The previously touted "encryption privacy" concept doesn't feel very noticeable at the moment.

From personal testing, messages on the XChat interface appear similar to those on the X platform group interface, except for an added [Encrypted - Yes] label.

As for an optional [Encryption on/off] toggle, it is not visible in this version.

XChat long press message - click "Info" showing "Encryption"

X platform group chat interface long press message - click "Info" showing interface

Interesting Point No.7: Disappearing Messages Timer Ranges from 5 Minutes to 4 Weeks

In XChat group settings, clicking [Disappearing Messages] allows you to set the self-destruct timer for group messages. Durations include: 5 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 1 day, 1 week, 4 weeks.

According to the notes on this feature's interface, the timer likely starts from when a group member reads the message, not from when the sender sends it.

Specific path: [Group Avatar] - [Disappearing Messages]

Interesting Point No.8: XChat Group Invite Link Feature

This feature is relatively standard.

It's worth noting that XChat groups share the invite link feature with X platform groups. Once disabled, others cannot join the group even if they have the link.

XChat Group Invite Link Settings Interface

Interesting Point No.9: XChat Group Member Limit Likely 1000

This was previously mentioned in a post by X platform product lead Nikita Bier. The capacity of XChat group chats hasn't been thoroughly tested yet.

Not long ago, Bier announced the migration of X's original Community feature to XChat groups, reminding users that the transition period ends on May 30.

Additionally, he mentioned plans to "increase the XChat group chat limit to 500 members, and aim for 1000 members in the coming weeks. This should cover almost all communities on X except for a few." Of course, this presumptuous feature announcement drew significant criticism from X platform users.

A message posted by Nikita himself on April 23, which also drew significant backlash

Interesting Point No.10: App Icon Comes in 8 Colors, and Chat Bubbles are Strikingly Similar to WeChat's

As shown in the beta version, the official XChat release also offers eight icon colors: white, black, purple, green, orange, pink, gray, and yellow, allowing users to switch freely. While a small feature, it adds a touch of human warmth to this privacy-focused chat app.

Furthermore, XChat's message deletion feature seems borrowed from Telegram, offering options to "Delete for me" and "Delete for everyone."

Finally, features mentioned before XChat's launch, such as one-click import of X contacts and social graph, seamless use of Grok AI, X Money payments, and Cashtags, are all currently unavailable.

Of course, XChat has only been live for one day. It still has plenty of time for trial and error and iteration. Let's wait and see!