Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, has reportedly added new features to the social networking platform, which are a part of his plans to revamp the microblogging site. Musk discussed important updates like audio and video calling and message encryption in the application.

According to credible sources, Musk, during a presentation to the staff, announced that the firm would introduce encryption to direct messages (DMs) and work on voice and video calling features.

The CEO said that the company wanted to allow its users to interact with each other without being worried about their privacy or a data breach at Twitter, which can cause all their direct messages to go public.

Jane Manchun Wong, an app researcher, earlier found some code in Twitter's Android app hinting towards encrypted DMs. Musk also responded to the post which appeared to confirm that the functionality was being developed.

Encrypting messages will improve Twitter's privacy and make it more difficult for law enforcement and hackers to read the data. End-to-end encryption is currently available in apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, and Meta has revealed that Facebook and Instagram will soon follow suit.

The same discussion also highlighted ideas to launch video and voice calling features. Musk explained that while Signal required users to exchange phone numbers to access such features, Twitter won't require it because of its accounts system.

Musk had previously declared that the $8-per-month Twitter Blue subscription would be returning on November 29. However, that didn't go well, as many users created fake accounts to impersonate the Twitter CEO and other accounts. Musk was pressured to turn off the paid verification within two days of the release.

Elon Musk also claimed that the firm was actively hiring for positions in engineering and sales despite laying off almost two-thirds of the company’s workers since Musk took over. Referrals from staff members are permitted. However, there are no fresh job postings on the firm’s website.

Source credit: https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/encrypted-dms-video-calling-elon-musk-latest-twitter-plans-8282417/