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

(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.

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.

With latest version of app, you can DM reply to any message in the thread (not just most recent) and use any emoji reaction. Release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow. This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if…May 9, 2023

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 is the How To Editor of iMore, ensuring you can get the most from your Apple products and helping fix things when your technology isn’t behaving itself. Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself in his ability to complete his Apple Watch activity rings. John-Anthony has previously worked in editorial for collectable TCG websites and graduated from The University of Strathclyde where he won the Scottish Student Journalism Award for Website of the Year as Editor-in-Chief of his university paper. He is also an avid film geek, having previously written film reviews and received the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019. John-Anthony also loves to tinker with other non-Apple technology and enjoys playing around with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.

In his spare time, John-Anthony can be found watching any sport under the sun from football to darts, taking the term “Lego house” far too literally as he runs out of space to display any more plastic bricks, or chilling on the couch with his French Bulldog, Kermit.