Tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk is set to launch a standalone messaging app called **“X Chat”** to compete with popular platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp. The rollout is expected within the next few months.

During an appearance on *The Joe Rogan Experience* podcast, which aired on Friday, Musk revealed, “On X, we just rebuilt the entire messaging stack into what’s called ‘X Chat.’ It’s using a peer-to-peer-based encryption system, kind of similar to Bitcoin. It’s very good encryption; we’re testing it thoroughly.”

Musk hopes the new messaging app will be released in a “few months.” He emphasized that X Chat won’t have any “hooks for advertising,” unlike competitors such as WhatsApp. “WhatsApp knows enough about what you’re texting to know what ads to show you,” he explained. “But then, that’s a massive security vulnerability because if it knows enough information to show you ads, that’s a lot of information.” Musk added that these same “hooks” could potentially be exploited by hackers to read private messages.

### Does WhatsApp Read Your Messages?

WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, claims it does **not** have access to private messages. According to their FAQ, messages between users are end-to-end encrypted using the Signal Protocol. This encryption extends to voice messages, media, and documents.

However, certain “metadata” — such as who you chat with and how frequently — is not encrypted. Additionally, WhatsApp does **not** automatically encrypt backup copies of chat history.

When asked, “Does WhatsApp collect or sell your data?”, WhatsApp’s FAQ provides a careful response:
“We work with other Meta Companies to help provide, improve, and support each other’s services. If you choose to integrate your WhatsApp experience with other Meta products, we will share some information with Meta to make this possible.”

### X Chat Promises Enhanced Privacy Without Advertising Hooks

Elon Musk assures that X Chat will not include these advertising “hooks.” “I’m not saying it’s perfect, but our goal with X Chat is to replace what used to be the Twitter DM stack with a fully encrypted system where you can text, send files, do audio and video calls,” he said. “I think it will be the least insecure of any messaging system.”

X Chat will be available both as part of the X platform and as its own standalone app, offering users a privacy-focused alternative in the crowded messaging app market.
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