Tag: DMs

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Twitter working on encrypted DMs with Signal protocol

Last week, Twitter owner Elon Musk talked about plans to add encrypted direct messages (DMs) to Twitter as part of his ‘Twitter 2.0’ vision. Additionally, Musk mentioned the creator of the encrypted chat app Signal might be on board to help. Now, code spotted in the Twitter iOS app includes references to the Signal protocol.

Spotted by Jane Manchun Wong, who has a track record for finding in-development features in social media apps, the code strongly suggests Twitter will use the Signal protocol for encrypted DMs. As an aside, it appears Wong’s Twitter account was removed or deleted after posting these details — it’s not clear why.

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a fairly common feature of messaging platforms. For those unfamiliar with it, E2EE means that only participants in a given chat have the encryption key and can view the messages. Currently, Twitter DMs use a weaker form of encryption, which means Twitter holds the keys, and technically anyone at the company with access could read DMs.

Should Twitter adopt E2EE, it will make DMs significantly more secure. Moreover, using the Signal protocol will add some trust to encrypted Twitter DMs, given the protocol is the basis for E2EE in both the Signal app and WhatsApp. Of course, it’s likely still early days for the development of the feature, and it’s not clear how long it’ll take to roll out.

Source: @wongmjane Via: 9to5Mac

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Mobile Syrup

Musk talks encrypted DMs, voice and video chat in Twitter meeting

Twitter owner Elon Musk discussed plans to encrypt direct messages (DMs) and add new features like video and voice chat. Moreover, Musk may have the creator of the secure messaging platform Signal on board to help.

The Verge reported the details of a meeting between Musk and Twitter employees on Monday, which the publication obtained a recording of. In the meeting, Musk had presentation slides titled “Twitter 2.0,” which was the same term he used in an email to employees demanding they commit to long hours or quit (spoiler: a bunch quit).

“We want to enable users to be able to communicate without being concerned about their privacy, [or] without being concerned about a data breach at Twitter causing all of their DMs to hit the web, or think that maybe someone at Twitter could be spying on their DMs,” Musk said in the meeting (The Verge notes that Twitter DMs have leaked before).

Encrypted DMs are a top priority for Musk and his Twitter 2.0 vision — during the meeting, he praised Signal and said he spoke with creator Moxie Marlinspike, who was “potentially willing to help out” with encrypting Twitter DMs. Interestingly, Marlinspike previously worked at Twitter and wanted to do encrypted DMs years ago but was denied. He left the company and created Signal.

It’s not clear what Marlinspike’s “help” would look like. If I had to guess, I could see Twitter adopting the Signal Protocol for encrypted DMs, similar to Meta’s WhatsApp, rather than Twitter going its own route. Whatever happens with encrypted DMs will ultimately come down to the current whims of Musk.

To follow along with Musk’s Twitter turmoil, check out all our coverage here.

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

You can now search your Twitter DMs for keywords

Twitter is making it easier for users to search for specific messages in their inboxes.

The social media giant announced users can now use the search bar in their inbox to search for messages using specific keywords and names.

Searching using a specific name or keyword brings up people, groups, and direct messages that match the search.

The feature is available on iOS, Android, and the web.

A comment on Twitter’s support page indicates web users who can’t use the feature at this time will be able to soon as the feature continues to roll out.

Source: @TwitterSupport