Twitter Testing Encrypted Direct Messages Feature Called Secret Conversation

Twitter appears to be quietly testing an encrypted direct messages feature for its Android app. The new feature is currently called “Secret Conversations” and it might make its way to all Twitter users in the near future.

The encrypted direct messages feature for Twitter was first discovered by Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane). Wong spotted the feature hidden within the Android application package (APK). APKs typically contain codes for features that have yet to launch, or are currently being tested before they are made available to everyone. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment on the recent discovery, according to TechCrunch.

Wong posted screenshots of Twitter’s Secret Conversation feature and it looks like it still needs some work. There appears to be an option to start a Secret Conversation right away and an option to view and verify the encryption keys of the participants in the conversation, as pointed out by Gizmodo. Direct messages that are encrypted also appear to have the “Secret Conversation” logo on top of the thread.

For the uninitiated, end-to-end encryption is a system of online communication that ensures messages sent and received are only seen by the participants of a conversation. It makes it impossible for hackers, governments or even Twitter itself to snoop on users’ conversations. Back in 2016, whistleblower Edward Snowden asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to implement encrypted messaging on the platform. Dorsey said at the time that Snowden’s request was “reasonable and something we’ll think about.”

Twitter’s direct messages feature is a popular way of talking to strangers without having to provide phone numbers or email addresses. Implementing E2E encryption adds another layer of privacy when it comes to communicating with people on Twitter. This also makes it easier for people to contact members of the media, conduct private business matters or simply flirt around with people users meet on Twitter.

It remains uncertain when Twitter plans on launching this new feature to its Android and iOS apps. However, seeing that it’s already been built suggests that it is being tested and it could be made available to everyone soon.

The discovery of end-to-end encryption in Twitter’s direct messages also arrives just a week after the company urged all of its users to change their passwords. Twitter said that its users’ passwords were exposed in plaintext due to a bug in the company’s systems. Twitter said that the bug has already been fixed, but users were still encouraged to change their passwords as a safety measure.