After literal years of testing, Twitter has finally released what it’s calling stage 1 of its rollout of encrypted DMs, which Twitter itself says is not as secure just yet, but will soon become so over time. That sort of defeats the purpose, and it does seem a bit misleading, but this is where things are currently at with Twitter 2.0.

Tweet-crypted

Based on early samples, Twitter’s new encryption process will allow users to switch on encryption for their chats. However, their messages won’t really be encrypted, at least not within the normally implied sense of the term. At the same time, the functionality will also be fairly limited in who can actually use it, prompting many criticisms from privacy experts.

First off, as noted by Twitter, even with this initial version of encryption enabled, messages won’t actually be shielded from third-party manipulation. So, not really encrypted at all. Twitter’s initial encryption process also operates at a conversational level, not for individual messages, which does add another front for interference, as anyone who gains access would be able to see the entire message chain.

So, right off the bat, it’s already not great, and definitely not what ‘encrypted’ implies. It’s so bad that even Chief Twit Elon Musk advises users not to trust it. Given that, why release it at all, right? Why would Twitter launch a new feature that suggests a level of security without itself living up to the expectation that users would have for encrypted messaging?

It does seem like Musk’s mode of operation is pumping out in-progress updates as soon as possible, then refining them as customer feedback comes in to essentially speed up the entire process, keeping pressure on his dev teams. Which, for a feature like this, isn’t so great – though if this is also something common across all of Musk’s companies, then the risks would be more significant in chucking half-assed updates for rockets or self-driving cars.

Anyway, this is what we’re all expecting. Stage 1 of encrypted messaging will also be restricted to one-on-one chats between Twitter Blue subscribers only who’ve messaged each other in the past. DMs will also not be able to include attachments. It’s highly restricted, skewed, and everything but ‘encrypted’.

The Wrap

Musk has long touted DM encryption as a key development in establishing greater trust in the app by ‘enabling people to feel free in wearing whatever they like within their private chats.’ Twitter had already delayed its encryption plans due to its efforts to weed out child abuse material, which encryption would essentially counteract as it would protect those looking to engage in such, underlining another much broader key concern. But hey, apparently Twitter is okay with it.

It just seems like a confusing strategy, which seems more focused on making announcements, rather than getting and doing things rights. So, this is the ‘Genius’ of Elon Musk? Truly unfathomable.

Sources

https://bit.ly/3MhZRq1