The news on Twitter hasn’t been all positive since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the service, things being what they are. There have been layoffs; paid subscriptions have appeared; there are limitations in the API; the rumor that Elon Musk’s tweets get insider visibility on the service; and more. However, not everything has been negative. We say this because, for example, Twitter published its algorithm and also launched a new emergency function that is quite useful. Well, it has been known that it is addressing one of the main privacy problems of the site in its messaging options. An important and very positive change In April, Elon Musk revealed that the US government had full access to “everything on Twitter”, including direct messages from its users. Starting May 11, 2023 (that is, tomorrow), direct messages will be encrypted on Twitter. The change protects the content of direct messages so that they cannot be read by anyone except participating users. In other words, after the change, not even Elon Musk will be able to access the content of direct messages on Twitter. This is something completely official, since the owner of the social network himself confirmed the plan to launch encrypted direct messages on Twitter: “the launch of encrypted direct messages V1.0 should happen tomorrow. This will quickly grow in sophistication. The acid test is that I wouldn’t be able to see your direct messages, even if there was a gun to my head.” And, furthermore, one thing has been made very clear: this enhancement to encrypted direct messages is just the beginning. Updates will improve functionality in the future. Other Changes to Twitter Direct Messages Twitter users using the service’s mobile app are going to get another change that is related to direct messages on the platform. Thus, users will be allowed to send direct messages to any user of the social network in a thread, not just the most recent one. Emoji reactions are also available for these, according to the messages that have been officially released. Ultimately, direct message encryption was a missing feature on Twitter. Anyone with access to Twitter’s databases could access direct messages from users of the service. The introduction of the feature is a huge milestone for the service, as it significantly improves the privacy of its users by blocking access to direct messages on the site. >
