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X adding voice and video calls is unchartered territory for social media
No phone number will be needed to access the calling functionality on X, which means any and all Twitter users may be able to call each other
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, wants to become a global address book for communication. Elon Musk who is owner and chief technology officer at X, has reiterated that voice and video calls are coming soon on the X platform. Any exact timelines on when this functionality will roll-out aren’t confirmed. These developments must be viewed as building blocks for X evolving into a “super app”, but significant questions remain to be answered.
X will now compete with popular and diverse communications apps including the Meta owned WhatsApp and Messenger, Snapchat, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. However, this will be the first time a social media app has integrated calling as a communication option for its users.
No phone number will be needed to access the calling functionality on X, which means any and all Twitter users may be able to call each other. There is no clarity on the structure of this communication feature.
The voice and video calls options will be available on iOS as well as Android, alongside Microsoft Windows PCs and Apple’s Mac computing devices. Whether the web browser version of X or indeed the X Pro suite (formerly TweetDeck) will also integrate this feature set, isn’t clear for now.
Calling and messaging is a competitive and user loyalty driven space that X is wading into. Latest data by research firm Statista pegs WhatsApp as the undisputed leader among global mobile messaging apps with 2 billion active users. WeChat (1.3 billion), Messenger (931 million) and Telegram (700 million), follow.
More questions remain to be answered, but true to X’s current trend of communication, finer details remain scarce. Foremost is the question about whether voice and video calls will be behind the X Blue subscription wall. In all likelihood, that’ll be the case, as X pursues revenue by selling more subscriptions.
X Blue costs ₹650 per month in India, though the pricing rises to ₹900 per month if users choose to subscribe via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
We do not know which, if any, privacy measures will be put in place for voice and video calls. X has not detailed whether calls will be encrypted. It remains to be seen whether there will be an option to disable incoming calls altogether, if incoming call notifications be turned off completely, the ability to restrict calls from unknown users and whether there will be an option for group calls.
These are just some ambiguities, which will need to be clarified ahead of the expected update.
This isn’t the first instance of X’s calling functionality being broached. In May, Musk outlined intentions for calls and encrypted messaging on X. The status of the latter, remains unclear for now. Last month, X CEO, Linda Yaccarino mentioned the calling functionality.
The move fits in with X’s attempts at recreating a super app, with the functionality suite including voice and video messaging as well as digital payments and banking. Part of that pursuit includes competing with the Microsoft owned LinkedIn’s job listings feature.
“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” Yaccarino said in July, in one of her first posts after she took over as CEO.
In August, X rolled out X Hiring in a beta test phase, which can be used by ‘verified organisations’ on the platform to feature job listings. Companies on X must pay $1000 per month for the verified organisations badging. The platform has also begun to share part of the advertising revenue with content creators who have at least 5 million impressions in three months. Exactly how these payouts are calculated though, hasn’t been officially detailed.
