'This is the acid test': Elon Musk rolls out encrypted DMs this week

Elon Musk announced on Saturday that encrypted direct messages, or DM's, will be rolled out on Twitter this week as the billionaire mogul continues to make upgrades and improvements to the social media app that he purchased for $44 billion last year.

This is to ensure that direct messages are unable to be hacked and remain private between the two-party users, according to Musk.



"Major software upgrades underway across the board. Encrypted DMs & other DM upgrades rolling out this week," the Twitter CEO announced on the social media app.

During a previous interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk explained that Twitter DM's should be private in the way that if someone were to "put a gun to his head" he wouldn't be able to read them.

Musk's comments stem from the United State's government and their entities hacking into Twitter accounts and reading user's private messages, which was revealed last year in the bombshell reporting on what has been dubbed, "The Twitter Files."

"The degree to which various government agencies had full access to everything that was going on at Twitter blew my mind. I was not aware of that," Musk told Carlson.

Carlson in a follow-up question asked, “Would that include people's DMs?"

Musk answered, "Yes, because the DM's aren't encrypted."

"So, one of the first things that we're about to release is the ability to encrypt your DM's," Musk said, explaining that the feature will be "optional" and users will have the option to toggle the encryption on-and-off.

"So, if you are in a conversation you think is sensitive, you can just toggle encryption on, and then no one at Twitter can see what you're talking about. That way I could put a gun to my head...and can I still not see your DM's," Musk said. "That's the acid test."

 

Journalist Matt Taibbi's sixth installment of The Twitter Files exposed how the platform had acted as a "subsidiary" of the FBI. Taibbi revealed that "between January 2020 and November 2022 there had been over 150 emails between the FBI and former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth." Taibbi showed an internal email from November 5th, 2022, where the FBI had sent Twitter a list of accounts that they said "may warrant additional action."

In December, journalist Bari Weiss released another Twitter Files drop which showcased a screenshot of a 'Direct Messages' tab. This led to the revelation that Twitter employees had access to people's DMs.