XChat launch: Elon Musk to release app this week, will it replace WhatsApp?
Encrypted Messaging, File Sharing, and More
Signal-Like Privacy, Bitcoin-Style Security?
Live Events
A Step Toward the 'Everything App'
Tech World Watches Closely
FAQs
What is XChat?
When will XChat be available?
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
In a fresh push toward transforming his social media platform X into a comprehensive digital ecosystem, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced that XChat, a new encrypted messaging and calling service, will begin rolling out to users this week. The development marks a significant expansion of X's capabilities, raising questions about whether Musk's platform could become a viable competitor to WhatsApp, the dominant player in the messaging space, as mentioned in a report by Forbes.The announcement, made by Musk via a post on X on Monday, outlined key features of XChat, including end-to-end encryption, vanishing messages, the ability to share 'any kind of file,' and the option to make audio or video calls without the need for a phone number.The new functionalities will be layered onto the platform's existing direct messaging service, which originally stemmed from its predecessor, Twitter.Musk stated the rollout will begin 'this week,' barring any technical issues. Reports indicate that some paying subscribers on X Premium have already begun accessing early iterations of the XChat service, suggesting limited testing is underway.A notable emphasis has been placed on privacy and encryption. Musk previously said he aimed to make direct messaging on X mirror the encrypted platform Signal, known for its strong security protocols. In his Monday post, Musk mentioned that XChat would adopt 'Bitcoin-style encryption'.However, this has drawn scrutiny from tech experts, as Bitcoin does not use encryption in a conventional sense but instead relies on cryptography and digital signatures to secure its blockchain network.Nevertheless, Musk's intent appears to be reinforcing privacy standards that go beyond those of many mainstream messaging apps. He has also previously criticised Meta-owned WhatsApp, alleging it lacks sufficient user security—a claim WhatsApp has repeatedly denied, as mentioned in a report by Forbes.The introduction of XChat is part of Musk's broader vision to transform X into an 'everything app,' a goal he articulated before acquiring Twitter in a $44 billion deal in October 2022. The idea draws inspiration from Chinese super apps like WeChat, which combine messaging, social networking, payments, shopping, and entertainment.Musk has already initiated steps toward this model. In January, he announced a partnership with Visa to enable peer-to-peer payments on X, putting it in direct competition with services like Zelle and Venmo. The platform has also integrated Grok, an AI-powered chatbot, as part of its growing suite of features.X CEO Linda Yaccarino has echoed Musk's ambitions, calling the rollout of financial and messaging tools central to the company's roadmap.The launch of XChat could signal a new era for digital communications, especially if it manages to scale and attract a global user base. While WhatsApp currently dominates the messaging market with over 2 billion active users, XChat's promise of integrated functionality, privacy, and a social media backbone could position it as a disruptive force—if executed effectively.For now, all eyes are on Musk and whether XChat, poised to debut this week, can indeed carve out a meaningful space in the saturated messaging app market.XChat is a new encrypted messaging and calling service introduced by Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter), offering secure text, audio, video, and file-sharing capabilities.According to Musk, the rollout will begin this week. Some X Premium subscribers have reportedly started seeing early access.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Social Security Fairness Act benefit increases reach 91% processed — what public employees need to know about their higher Social Security payments and lump sum retroactive checks in 2025
What exactly is the Social Security Fairness Act and who benefits? How much money will Social Security recipients actually get? Live Events Why have some people not received their payments yet? How has the Social Security Administration handled this massive workload? What does this mean for Social Security claimants going forward? FAQs: (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Social Security Fairness Act is making waves this year, providing benefit increases and lump-sum retroactive payments to nearly 3 million Americans. As of now, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has processed about 91% of these adjustments, speeding up what many expected to take over a year. If you're wondering where your updated benefits stand or what this law means for you, here's the latest on the Social Security Fairness Act payments and how it's reshaping Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, removes two big obstacles — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These rules had cut benefits for people who worked in jobs with pensions not tied to Social Security payroll taxes, like teachers, firefighters, police officers, and federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement to SSA, roughly 2.8 million people were impacted by these reductions. The new law changes that, boosting benefits for about 3 million public servants and others with similar pension situations. Yet, not everyone in these groups will see an increase. Around 72% of state and local public workers already pay Social Security taxes, so they weren't affected by the old increases vary a lot. Some individuals will see only a small bump, while others could get over $1,000 extra each month. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that monthly Social Security payments could rise anywhere from $360 to $1,190 per person, depending on individual addition to higher monthly checks, the SSA is issuing lump-sum payments for back benefits starting as far back as January 2024. These retroactive sums have been processed together with new monthly increases for most 91% of benefit adjustments have been processed, about 300,000 cases remain. These often involve complex situations that can't be handled by automation and require manual example, some beneficiaries who passed away recently may have retroactive payments that need to be sent to their survivors. Others face issues like overpayments, where SSA will try to recover excess money previously are also new applicants who qualify because of the law and still need to file claims. The timing of these applications will affect when their benefits begin and the amounts they credits automation for processing the majority of these cases swiftly. Commissioner Frank Bisignano promised senators that all payments would be completed 'while the weather is warm.' The agency currently aims to finish updates by early November but is pushing to get it done this push has created new challenges. SSA employees are prioritizing about 900,000 complicated Social Security Fairness Act cases that must be handled by hand. This has slowed down other services like updating direct deposit information and dealing with Medicaid SSA workers report working overtime, including weekends, to meet the deadline, but delays and frustrations remain for many law's implementation is a huge change for the Social Security program — the biggest expansion in decades. It's expected to cost around $200 billion over the next 10 years, sparking debate about the program's financial the number of Social Security retirement claims is rising sharply in 2025, up 15% from 2024, fueled partly by this law and the growing number of retiring Baby Boomers. The SSA has also made staffing and policy changes this year that have confused and worried many suggest Congress might want to review the entire process to understand costs and impacts better. Meanwhile, beneficiaries should stay alert to updates and be prepared for some delays as SSA works through its employees with pensions but no Social Security payroll taxes, like teachers and firefighters, SSA aims to finish all payments by early November 2025.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Only 8 pc GCCs advanced significantly across innovation, market advantage, efficiency: BCG report
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Only 8 per cent of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have advanced significantly across the three dimensions key to enterprise value - innovation , competitive differentiation and operational efficiency , a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) the US, and Mexico emerged as the most balanced GCC ecosystems, with India uniquely combining scale, innovation, and efficiency, it report called for a step-change in how organisations structure, invest in, and activate their GCCs, not just as support engines, but as core drivers of innovation, AI adoption , and business GCCs are evolving rapidly in scope and ambition, the majority remain focused on delivery execution, under-utilising their potential to act as capability hubs powering enterprise-wide transformation."A new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), 'Rewriting the Global Capability Center Playbook: Scaling Maturity with AI', finds that only 8 per cent of GCCs have advanced significantly across the three dimensions most critical to enterprise value - innovation, competitive differentiation, and operational efficiency," it report found that tech, media, and telecom firms lead in maturity, driven by higher investment in AI initiatives and depth of innovationIt underlined AI, advanced AI use cases, including GenAI, and AI agents, as critical accelerator of GCC maturity While top performers have moved beyond pilots to embed AI across core workflows, most GCCs remain trapped in early-stage experimentation, it said."GCCs which treat AI as a bolt-on will never close the gap," Rajiv Gupta, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG, frontrunners have strategically embedded AI into their operating models, at a scale which makes a material difference at the enterprise level. The leaders are not experimenting, they are delivering meaningful 90 per cent of top-performing GCCs implement advanced AI use cases versus about 50 per cent of others."The risk for others is falling into an autopilot mode," Gupta added.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India needs massive investments for Net-Zero Goal by 2070; Private sector will be vital: Moody-ICRA
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel According to a joint report by Moody's Ratings & ICRA , highlights that India will require a huge investment in order to meet ambitious 2070 net-zero emissions norms particularly in the power report projects that over the next decade, these investments are projected to constitute 2 per cent of country's real GDP for the electricity value chain, encompassing power generation, storage, transmission and report also suggests that the country must manage the complex balance of energy security, affordability, and the transition to cleaner India's fast-growing economy will continue to rely on coal in the short to medium term. It adds a 32 to 35 per cent increase in coal-based generation capacity (around 70-75 GW) over the next 10 years, alongside the addition of 450 GW in renewable capacity."We expect the private sector to remain active in India's renewable energy sector, while government-owned companies will also increase their role," said Abhishek Tyagi, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit further added that, "Solar and wind power will dominate new generation capacity additions over the next 20-25 years, with smaller nuclear and hydropower additions."Furthermore, the report also expects a slowdown in road project execution in the near term despite a healthy FY2026 budgetary outlay of Rs 2.72 trillion for the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH)."With road awarding projected to improve only in second half of FY2026, the revenue growth of road developers is likely to remain subdued over the next 12-15 months, as it takes 6-9 months from project awarding to on-ground execution (first billing milestone)," said Ashish Modani, ICRA's Senior Vice President and Group Head, Corporate contrast, ports and data centers are emerging as key growth areas. Under the Maritime India Vision 2030, the government has committed substantial capex to expand port capacity. ICRA anticipates a 3 to 5 per cent increase in cargo volumes in FY2026, led by containerised cargo, petroleum products, and fertilisers, though global trade and tariff uncertainties pose risks.
