Twitter’s “secret” DM mode will finally let you encrypt your conversations

Following on from the likes of WhatsApp and Signal, Twitter appears to be testing out a new feature that would allow its users to send encrypted messages to each other, called ‘Secret conversations’.

The feature is currently being tested, but if it gets a full release then it will allow Twitter users to message one another privately without any risk of their conversations being snooped in on by a third party, reports TechCrunch.

The new feature was first discovered in Twitter’s APK by Jane Manchun Wong, although Twitter is yet to officially confirm the feature.

Twitter isn’t the first mainstream service to introduce end-to-end encryption for its messages. Back in 2016 WhatsApp made encryption the default, meaning that the majority of its users are now using it without even realising it’s turned on.

Encryption for all, but not Facebook

With Twitter being the social media network of journalists the world over, it’s increasingly important that the platform offers more security to its users.

A journalist’s main public facing persona is often presented through Twitter, and so it’s likely that many will use the platform’s direct messages to talk to sources who’ll need the protection offered by encryption.

But the name ‘Secret Conversation’ has us worried that Twitter’s implementation will follow a similar route to Facebook, which has offered an encrypted option in Messenger for a while now.

However, Messenger’s encrypted messaging is hidden in a side-menu, which means that no one uses it and that it’s significantly less convenient than sending normal messages.

If encrypted messaging on Twitter is going to take off, then the platform will need to make it as easy and convenient as WhatsApp has done in order to ensure that all its users benefit from it, and not just the privacy conscious ones.

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