Elon Musk sets his sights on iPhone's Facetime feature with Twitter audio and video calls

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Twitter is coming for FaceTime.

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(Image credit: iMore / Stephen Warwick)

Elon Musk has announced a host of new features coming to Twitter, including encrypted DMs, and voice and video chat similar to Apple's FaceTime.

In a tweet sent to his 139 million followers, Musk said that the Twitter app will soon allow users to call any other handle on the platform "so you can talk to people anywhere in the world without giving them your phone number." 

Musk didn't expand on this feature, although privacy concerns will be at the forefront of discussion, especially considering the continuous overhaul that Twitter has received daily since he purchased the platform for $44 billion in October 2022.

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Alongside the new FaceTime competitor, Musk announced that encrypted direct messages should be hitting the social media app this week. He said, "Release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow (May 11th). This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to my head."

Again, encrypted direct messages on what feels like a rogue platform in its current state will be heralded as a genius move by some users and terrifying by others.

Twitter's new identity

Adding voice and video calling alongside encrypted direct messages bring features to Twitter that could see the platform regain its mojo. That being said, it will be interesting to see if users trust the privacy of these features considering the constant chop and change and unrest at Twitter since Musk's takeover. If they are a success, the Twitter app for iPhone will fit right at home on all the best iPhones. 

We won't have to wait long to test out encrypted DMs, but voice and video calls have an unannounced timeline. That means we could be waiting months to hear about the feature again, or it could drop tomorrow. One thing's for sure, Elon Musk loves to make big promises, and allowing Twitter users to call anyone on the platform could be the biggest one yet.

John-Anthony Disotto
John-Anthony Disotto
Editor

John-Anthony Disotto is the Editor of iMore, helping you get the most from your Apple products and fixing things when your technology isn't behaving itself.

Based in Scotland, where he worked as a Genius Bar technician repairing iPhones, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself on closing his Apple Watch activity rings.

He leads iMore's work on AI in the newsroom, testing where it genuinely improves editorial work and where it doesn't. Every story is written, edited, and signed off by a person.

Previously in editorial at TechRadar and Tom's Guide, John-Anthony is an avid film geek who won the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019. Away from Apple, he tinkers with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.