Twitter establishes encrypted direct messaging… but you have to pay for it

A new Twitter support document outlines what users can expect from the first version of the platform’s encrypted direct messages. One key point to note is that you have to pay to use this.

There are already platforms that are able to send encrypted messages for free, like WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal, and iMessage, so having to pay for the feature on Twitter may be a difficult transition.

You are only allowed to send encrypted Direct Messages if you are a verified user, a verified organization, or an affiliate of a verified organization, according to the document.

To be able to send an encrypted DM, the sender must be using the latest Twitter app (mobile and web). And the recipient must have either followed the sender; or have accepted a DM request from the sender in the past.

You’ll see a lock toggle while you’re drafting a message if you can send encrypted messages to someone who can receive them. A small lock icon will appear next to the avatar of the person you’re chatting with in encrypted conversations. Encrypted direct messages will be separate from the unencrypted ones.

A few restrictions and a major flaw are currently present with encrypted direct messages. You can only send them one-on-one; Twitter says groups will be available “soon.”

Twitter says, “As a result, if someone — for example, a malicious insider, or Twitter itself as a result of a compulsory legal process — were to compromise an encrypted conversation, neither the sender or receiver would know.”

In order to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks and alert users if one occurs, the company is considering mechanisms to make them more difficult.

The company wrote, “As Elon Musk said, when it comes to Direct Messages, the standard should be, if someone puts a gun to our heads, we still can’t access your messages. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working on it.”

The company also notes that while messages and reactions to encrypted DMs are encrypted, “metadata (recipient, creation time, etc.) are not, and neither is any linked content (only links themselves, not any content they refer to, is encrypted).”

Musk expressed a commitment to encrypted DMs in November as part of “Twitter 2.0”, a feature he outlined to employees.