The public launch of XChat, X’s independent messaging application, occurred on Friday. Initially launched for iOS devices, the app enables users to connect with their X contacts for messaging, sharing files, making audio and video calls, and participating in group chats.

Earlier this year, the company commenced public testing of XChat with a limited group of beta users to gather their insights on the new experience.

The XChat application plays a crucial role in the company’s strategic vision, perceiving the social network as a foundation for additional services, such as messaging and payments. (The latter is also under development as a separate application, although it is not yet publicly accessible.)

Nonetheless, X’s choice to separate part of its platform into a dedicated app marks a departure from owner Elon Musk’s previous objective to transform X into an “everything app,” designed to be a single hub for messaging, payments, creator content, shopping, AI, and more.

Conversely, xAI (Musk’s AI firm that owns X and is owned by Musk’s other enterprise SpaceX) is now introducing a variety of apps to create more consumer interactions with its offerings.

Upon launch, the XChat app provides functionalities for messaging and calling, along with other features advertised as privacy-oriented, such as the option to edit and delete messages for all participants in the chat; support for disappearing messages; and the capability to obstruct screenshots. X asserts that there are no advertisements or tracking systems within the app.

The company further states that all communications are end-to-end encrypted and secured by a PIN — although security professionals have questioned the company’s encryption assertions in the past.

Experts in security had previously cautioned prospective users that the XChat service seems to be less secure than other encrypted messaging applications, like Signal, at the app’s initial unveiling. They will need to reassess the dedicated XChat app now that it is widely available, to determine if the necessary enhancements have been implemented.

Besides facilitating private and group chats, XChat is also positioned to take over as the new platform for X’s Communities, which the company has chosen to discontinue due to low usage and high spam levels. This news could potentially provide XChat with an initial increase in new installations as community participants transition.

According to X’s lead designer Benji Taylor, additional updates to XChat are apparently still in the works, hinting that the app is “just the beginning of what we’re constructing for messaging.”