Twitter may be working on end-to-end encryption for direct messages

Twitter may be implementing end-to-end encryption in its function of sending direct messages to other users. The so-called ‘secret conversation’ functionality appears to be in the apk of Twitter’s Android app.

Jane Manchun Wong discovered the encryption option in the apk, which will likely allow Twitter users to send each other direct messages secured with end-to-end encryption. Apps such as WhatsApp and Signal already use this.

APKs often contain code for new functionality that has not yet been officially released. Twitter has declined to comment, despite a request to do so from TechCrunch, among others. It is therefore not yet clear whether and when the functionality will be released.

The American Whistleblower Edward Snowden already called on Twitter in December 2016 to come up with better security for the direct message function. The CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, said in a response that he thought it was a reasonable request and that Twitter would think about it.

In principle, Twitter users can send other users unknown to them direct messages, unless the recipient has set a filter for this. Twitter introduced this private message filtering feature in May last year.