Twitter Launches Encrypted Direct Messages Support With Many Limitations

Twitter on Thursday introduced the launch of its encrypted DMs characteristic, which is geared toward securing messages on the platform. While that is Twitter’s first transfer in its objective of supporting end-to-end encrypted messages on the service, the corporate has warned that the present implementation has a number of limitations. Only verified customers can begin encrypted chats, whereas Twitter does not at present help encrypted group messages on the app. There’s additionally a restrict on the variety of gadgets that may have entry to encrypted conversations, in response to the corporate.

The firm defined in a weblog submit that the brand new encryption characteristic for direct messages, or DMs, is supported on the most recent variations of Twitter for iOS, Android, and the Web. However, each customers will must be verified, both as a Twitter Blue subscriber, or as a member of a verified organisation on Twitter. Even if these two standards are met, the recipient should observe the sender of the message or have already despatched them a message previously — they will additionally settle for the sender’s DM request.

After assembly the above necessities, the sender will see a toggle with a lock icon after clicking on the brand new message floating motion button. This will open a chat with an eligible recipient and encrypted chats can be denoted by a lock icon on the recipient’s profile image.

Twitter’s encrypted DMs are denoted by a lock icon
Photo Credit: Twitter

However, not like messaging companies like Signal and WhatsApp there are at present a number of limitations to Twitter’s encrypted DMs characteristic. Twitter hasn’t disclosed what cryptographic scheme it has used to encrypt messages. As of now, teams aren’t supported, so you possibly can solely ship messages to 1 recipient. Only textual content and hyperlinks can be encrypted, which signifies that media, reactions, and all chat metadata shouldn’t be encrypted.

Twitter additionally says that there’s at present no option to confirm the integrity of a dialog, which signifies that Twitter or a malicious third celebration may compromise an encrypted dialog and customers wouldn’t be alerted. The firm says that it’s engaged on implementing signature checks and “safety numbers” (options applied by apps like Signal and WhatsApp) to simply enable customers to confirm the integrity of their chats. 

Meanwhile, Twitter will solely allow you to check in to a most of ten gadgets to entry encrypted DMs. You can’t see an inventory of registered gadgets, or de-register a tool you not have entry to. New gadgets is not going to have entry to current encrypted conversations.

Logging out of a tool will delete all of your encrypted chats, in response to Twitter, and within the absence of a key backup characteristic, there’s at present no option to retrieve these chats besides logging in to the identical system. The firm additionally says that customers will not be capable of report encrypted messages to Twitter, however means that they will block a consumer from sending them DMs and report the account as an alternative.