X tests standalone messaging app X Chat for iOS
Jakarta — The X platform provider is testing a standalone messaging app named X Chat for iOS. On Monday (2 March), the company announced that an initial beta of the X Chat app is available to thousands of early testers on Apple’s TestFlight testing platform, according to TechCrunch on Tuesday (3 March). Registrations for beta testers reportedly filled up within two hours of the announcement. XAI product designer Michael Boswell said in a post on X that the company would soon widen beta access from 1,000 initial users to 5,000 users. ‘Over the past few months, we have quietly been building a standalone X Chat app for iOS,’ Boswell wrote. ‘Use. Test. We want your feedback,’ he said.
X Chat is an enhanced version of the direct messaging feature on X, which is claimed to be end-to-end encrypted. However, several security experts previously warned that the service may not be as secure as encrypted messaging apps such as Signal. It is not yet known whether the company has addressed these concerns in the trial standalone app. Some testers referred to the app as ‘xChat’ rather than ‘X Chat’, fuelling speculation about a possible rebranding. The app’s interface, according to initial users, is simpler and more sleek than the direct messaging features in the main X app.
The beta version currently does not include a ‘message request’ feature. Boswell said that feature is being rebuilt. Other features still under development include a Verified badge and support for voice calls. X AI’s Grok chatbot confirmed several additional details about X Chat, including the user age limit, which will be the same as X at 17+ on the iOS App Store. Conversations on X Chat will be synchronised with the X app and the web version chat.x.com, launched in December 2025. An Android version of X Chat is reportedly due soon. The standalone messaging app launch is seen as a shift in X owner’s Elon Musk’s original plan to make X a multipurpose app providing access to messaging, payments, and content creation.