Elon Musk’s X launches standalone X Chat app in surprise move

Elon Musk’s X has ventured into new territory with the launch of X Chat, a standalone private messaging app.

The tech giant recently released the first beta version to a select group of 1,000 iOS users via TestFlight, and the demand was overwhelming; the trial reached full capacity within just two hours.

While xAI Product Designer Michael Boswell confirmed that X plans to expand this innovation access to other users soon, a specific timeline for the wider rollout remains under wraps.

The standalone app is essentially an advanced evolution of X’s existing direct message service. Although the company maintains that the platform is end-to-end encrypted, security experts have previously questioned how its protection measures truly stack up against rivals like Signal.

It is currently unclear if these specific privacy concerns have been rectified in the new standalone build.

Visually, the app introduces a "starry night" login theme and carries the branding "xChat." Early testers noted that message requests are currently missing, though Boswell mentioned that this feature is being rebuilt.

Interestingly, this move appears to pivot away from Musk’s long-held ambition of an "everything app," suggesting a preference for specialised, separate services instead.

According to the chatbot Grok, conversations will sync across the main X app and the web platform. With a 17+ age rating on iOS, an Android version is expected to follow shortly.