Security News > 2023 > May > Twitter Finally Rolling Out Encrypted Direct Messages — Starting with Verified Users

Twitter is officially beginning to roll out support for encrypted direct messages on the platform, more than six months after its chief executive Elon Musk confirmed plans for the feature in November 2022.

The "Phase 1" of the initiative will appear as separate conversations alongside existing direct messages on users' inboxes.

Another criteria to send and receive encrypted messages is that the recipient must follow the sender, has sent a message to the sender in the past, or has accepted a direct message request from the sender at some point.

While Twitter did not disclose the exact method it uses to secure the messages, the company said it employs a "Combination of strong cryptographic schemes" to encrypt users' messages, links, and reactions.

It further emphasized that the encrypted chat contents remain encrypted while stored on its infrastructure, which is then decrypted at the receiver's end.

"If the private key of a registered device was compromised, an attacker would be able to decrypt all of the encrypted messages that were sent and received by that device," Twitter said, adding it doesn't plan to remediate the limitation keeping larger user experience in mind.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2023/05/twitter-finally-rolling-out-encrypted.html