XChat Officially Launched on iPhone and iPad, Ready to Challenge WhatsApp and Telegram
JAKARTA - The X platform officially launched XChat, an independent instant messaging application for iPhone and iPad users. This marks the company's big step in expanding its digital ecosystem beyond social media.
The app is available this month on the App Store for the United States region and can be used on devices running iOS 26.0 or later.
The presence of XChat immediately sparked speculation that X was seriously challenging the dominance of established messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage. Unlike the direct message feature in the main X application, XChat is a private communication space that stands alone. Users can chat with anyone on the X platform without having to open the main application.
At its first launch, XChat already supports private messages, group chats, audio and video calls, to file sharing. The company also claims that all messages are protected with end-to-end encryption and additional security in the form of a PIN. Interestingly, X insists that this application is free of advertising and does not track user activity. In today's digital landscape, claims like this are clearly a big selling point.
Other features that are embedded include messages that can disappear automatically, the option to edit and delete messages for all participants in the conversation, to the notification or blocking system when someone tries to take a screenshot. If usually screenshots are the secret weapon of netizens, in XChat it seems that it can be an alarm.
This application has previously been tested since last year to a small group of beta users. Now, the public version is starting to be opened more widely.
X's design chief, Benji Taylor, even called XChat "the very beginning of what we're building for the messaging world."
The statement shows that X sees private communication as one of the company's future strategic pillars. In appearance, XChat is also designed to follow the latest iOS 26 design standards. From the built-in keyboard to the interface navigation, everything adapts to the typical Apple device experience.
The app also provides a number of personalization options, including light and dark modes, message permission settings, left swipe gesture preferences, to app icon options. Not to be outdone, there is a special button that allows users to return directly to the X main application.
Closed ecosystem but still interconnected - a pretty slick strategy. For now, XChat is only available in the United States. There is no official launch date for the Android version.
However, given X's aggressiveness in developing products, expansion to other platforms seems to be only a matter of time. The launch of XChat is a signal that competition for communication applications will become increasingly tight.
If previously X was known as a public conversation platform, now they are starting to enter the private conversation area.
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