Twitter is reportedly working on implementing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for direct messages (DMs) to protect private communications between the sender and the receiver.
Jane Manchun Wong, a well-known reverse engineer who spotted the changes to Twitter’s code, reported that the microblogging platform is working on bringing back the feature for Twitter DMs in the latest version of the Android app.
“Twitter is bringing back end-to-end encrypted DMs. Seeing signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android,” wrote Wong in a tweet sharing a screenshot of Twitter’s code.
“This number was generated from your encryption keys from this conversation. If it matches the number in the recipient’s phone, end-to-end encryption is guaranteed,” reads one of the strings in the source code emphasizing references to encryption keys and their use in end-to-end encrypted conversations.
Twitter is bringing back end-to-end encrypted DMs
Seeing signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android: https://t.co/YtOPHH3ntD pic.twitter.com/5VODYt3ChK
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
Apparently, in 2018, Twitter was working on a “Secret conversation” option for Twitter’s Android app, which if launched would allow users to send encrypted direct messages. However, this feature never saw the light of day, as work on the project was stopped by the social media platform without any explanation.
In response to Wong’s tweets, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted with a “winking face” emoji – an apparent affirmation that the E2EE feature is indeed in development for direct messages.
Early prototype of Twitter’s upcoming end-to-end encrypted DMs “Encryption keys” screen: https://t.co/rcnd7h68lO pic.twitter.com/EMXSlI188j
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) November 16, 2022
In the past too, Musk has been vocal about bringing the E2EE feature into Twitter DMs so that the conversations cannot be spied upon and suggested that the encryption should be like the Signal app.
What is end-to-end encryption?
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a system of communication where only the communicating users can read the messages. It is intended to prevent data from being read or secretly modified, other than by the true sender and recipient(s).
It prevents potential eavesdroppers – including telecom providers, Internet providers, malicious actors, and even the provider of the communication service – from being able to access the cryptographic keys needed to decrypt the conversation.
Currently, the E2EE feature is used in many encrypted messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, and Google’s RCS messages.
At this time, there is no official word on the E2EE feature or when it is going to be rolled out on the microblogging platform. We will have to wait and watch!
In related developments, the Twitter Blue subscription will now relaunch on November 29 “to make sure that it is rock solid,” Musk announced via tweet late Tuesday.
