X initially hinted that it would remove direct messages from X in 2025, but for now, XChat is available in the original X app, on the web, and in this new app.
Based on the released video, the new XChat app offers many modern messaging features that X has already introduced in its chat function, such as the ability to delete and edit messages, block screenshots, and send disappearing messages. The new XChat app also supports video and audio calls, and X claims that all messages sent via XChat are end-to-end encrypted.
XChat is also expected to serve as the home for all groups formed around the X Communities feature. The social platform recently announced that it would shut down Communities at the end of May and suggested that XChat's support for larger group chats could be a valuable alternative. XChat group chats currently support up to 350 participants, but X plans to expand that number in the future.
Elon Musk's original proposal after rebranding Twitter to X was to turn the platform into an "everything app," where things like algorithmic feeds, messages, job boards, and even payments could coexist. A standalone messaging app seems like the complete opposite of that, but it could also reflect where X stands in 2026.
The company is now a subsidiary of xAI, and xAI itself is part of SpaceX. Musk's foray into artificial intelligence appears to be the main focus, and cloning something like WeChat might be less of a priority.