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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Threads launches its own DM inbox, as app moves further away from Instagram
Instagram Threads is rolling out users' most-requested feature to date: the ability to message people directly, without having to switch to another app, like Instagram. The company said direct messages (DMs) will begin rolling out to users globally beginning on Tuesday, alongside a new visual element called highlighter. The latter will emphasize interesting perspectives and conversations, Meta says, starting with Trending Topics. At launch, Threads DMs offer a basic set of features. They'll support one-on-one chats, preset emoji reactions, the ability to report spam, and mute DMs (as on Instagram). Other features, like group messaging, inbox filters, and more advanced message controls, will arrive in a later release. That means today, you can't block a follower or mutual from messaging you — you can only block them on Threads, which will also block them on Instagram. To control who can message you, you have to choose whether or not you follow the user. At launch, DMs will be available in most markets where Threads is available, except for Japan, Australia, the U.K., and the E.U. With the addition of DMs, Threads becomes more competitive with other text-first social apps like X and Bluesky, where users can engage with one another directly or even in group chats, as in X's case. However, while X is working on encrypted direct messages within X Chat, Threads has no intention of tightly securing its private messaging feature. 'We're not encrypting our DMs,' said Emily Dalton Smith, Threads VP of Product. 'It's really about just connecting directly and talking to people about whatever is happening now, which I think makes encryption less core to the experience.' Instead, she said that DMs are meant to build on the community people have created in the public space on Threads — a network that's shaping up to be entirely different from its parent app, Instagram, Smith pointed out. 'One thing that's been particularly exciting is that we have seen that people are building their own graphs on Threads,' she said. 'They're building up what we think of as an interest graph that is new and distinct from the social graph that underlies their account on Instagram.' Despite having been built on top of Instagram's social graph, over a third of the people who come to Threads daily have less than a 50% overlap between their Instagram connections and Threads connections, Meta said. 'Instagram is really for creativity and Threads is really for perspectives,' Smith noted. The company also found that users are following different sets of people across the two apps, Instagram and Threads, and are engaging in different interests and conversations. Because of this growing disconnect between the apps, Meta aims to test other ways for people to use Threads without an Instagram account. For instance, it's testing the ability for users to log in with their Facebook account in Europe or create a Threads-only account. It's also testing the ability to use Threads from the web while not logged in at all. The Threads creator community is unique, too. Although it may include those who are popular creators on other platforms, some have become creators on Threads itself. One example is David Rushing, a passionate fan who built up the NBA Threads community. Smith said Threads would like to make it easier for its users to find communities like this and others, and this is an important part of the app's upcoming roadmap. On this front, Threads initially introduced tags (like hashtags without the hash # symbol) to organize conversations. It then created topic feeds so you could see everything that was being discussed around that area of interest. Now, the focus will be on identifying the people who are active and top contributors within a community. Threads expects to show more suggested users to follow in search and recommendations over the next couple of months, Smith said. The new highlight feature could also help here. While today, the feature will highlight trending topics related to the content you are reading while scrolling your For You feed, over time, Threads could highlight perspectives from users or active conversations that you might want to jump into, including within various topic feeds. There are currently no other plans to monetize Threads beyond ads, Smith confirmed, even though Meta has an AI feature that could be integrated into the experience the way xAI's AI chatbot, Grok, is used to sell X Premium subscriptions. Instead, Meta is first focused on getting ads right, while using AI to power things in the background, like trending topics' headlines and summaries, for instance. That doesn't mean the team will rule out AI features further down the road. 'We consider, probably, all ideas,' Smith said, 'but we're really just building on what our community tells us and trying to prioritize such a small and growing app.' Threads is not small, to be clear; the app has 350 million monthly active users, far more than newcomers like Bluesky, which has 37 million registered users. But compared with Meta's family of apps, where user bases are counted in billions, Threads still has much to prove to its corporate parent. Ahead of the global launch, DMs were tested earlier this month in a few markets, including Hong Kong, Thailand, Argentina, and Brazil. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Indian Express
Despite ‘Bitcoin-like encryption' promise, Elon Musk's XChat isn't secure as you think
Last week, Elon Musk announced that the latest version of the X (formerly Twitter) app is getting a new Direct Messaging feature called XChat. The new functionality, which Musk says is built using a 'whole new architecture' brings tons of new features like vanishing messages, ability to share files, audio and video calling and encryption. XChat comes a few days after the Elon Musk owned social media platform, previously known as Twitter, temporarily paused message encryption to make 'some improvements'. And while Musk did say that XChat is 'built on Rust with (Bitcoin style) encryption.' On its support page, X said that when users enter a Chat for the first time, it creates a 'private-public key pair' that is unique to each user, with the private key stored on X servers when they enter a PIN. XChat's method of storing chats may sound secure, but according to crypto news site Coindesk, experts say that while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin do have digital signing capabilities, the blockchain itself has no encryption and that there is no such thing as 'Bitcoin style encryption.' This means that unlike messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, which make messages completely unreadable by anyone other than the receiver and sender, XChat's security mechanism may not be as secure. The X help page does mention that messages on the platform are stored in an encrypted format, and can only be 'read by the user'. This may sound like End-to-End encryption, but the company does say that it currently does not 'offer protections against man-in-the-middle attacks,' which means if someone at X was to compromise an encrypted message, no one would know. 'XChat looks to be just another centralized platform where users have zero control over their data,' said Matthew Hodsgon, the CEO of messaging platform Element, which is used by the United Nations, US military and NATO said in a statement to The Register. Currently, there are concerns about XChat's encryption methods, but maybe we will get more details when X releases its whitepaper 'later this year.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
X Outlines its Updated DM Encryption Process
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. With X's new 'XChat' messaging platform now rolling out to all X Premium subscribers, X has also updated its documentation on its DM encryption, and how it will work in the new chat experience. As a recap, X launched message encryption for Premium subscribers last year, but it wasn't as secure as X would like, with Musk even labelling it 'clunky' and not functional for one-to-one messages. Encryption on X's audio and video calls works fine, as that was implemented after Musk took over at the app, but in order to enact full DM encryption, X apparently had to undergo a significant overhaul of its back-end messaging system. Which it has now done, and it's looking to roll out encrypted DMs to all users as the default. Though there are some specifics worth noting within that system. As explained by X: 'When entering Chat for the first time, a private-public key pair is created specific to each user. Users are prompted to enter a PIN (which never leaves the device), which is used to keep the private key securely stored on X's infrastructure. This private key can then be recovered from any device if the user knows that PIN. In addition to the private-public key pairs, there is a per-conversation key that is used to encrypt the content of the messages. The private-public key pairs are used to exchange the conversation key securely between participating users.' A four-digit PIN isn't the most secure approach here, but it does give X users an easy means to use its encrypted DM feature. X further notes that it utilizes: '… a combination of strong cryptographic schemes to encrypt every single message, link, and reaction that are part of an encrypted conversation before they leave the sender's device and remain encrypted while stored on X's infrastructure.' The encryption key in this instance seems like a potential weak point, but again, it's a relatively standard approach, just with a simpler PIN lock than many other encryption systems. In order to send and receive encrypted messages in the app, both the sender and the recipient will need to be using the latest X app on iOS (encryption isn't available on Android or web as yet). The recipient will also have to follow the sender, have accepted a DM from the sender before, or have sent a message to sender previously. So there needs to be some indicator of interest from both sides before you can implement encryption. X also notes that group messages and media can now be encrypted, though there will be a record of any shared posts: 'The contents of an encrypted direct message are always encrypted, including any links, media, or files. Reactions to encrypted direct messages are also encrypted. It is important to note that while the message content itself is encrypted, associated metadata (e.g., recipient, creation time, etc.) is not. If posts are shared in an encrypted chat, X will have a record that those Posts were shared.' Oh, also, if you log out of X, your DMs are auto-deleted from that specific device: 'If at any time you log out from X, all messages including encrypted direct messages on your current device will be deleted; this will not impact any other devices on which you are logged in. Upon logging out, X will erase any private keys and conversation keys. If you log back in on the same device, your device will be able to re-fetch and decrypt the encrypted conversations using the private key that the device had access to before logging out.' So you'll be able to get them back, but it could be a little weird, depending on implementation. Overall, it's a pretty straightforward implementation of basic encryption, though the 4-digit passcode seems less secure than I would like. But it does give you a more secure option, and X is hoping that the added assurance will also eventually lead to more people transferring money in the app, once X Payments come around. X says that it intends to open source its encryption system info later this year. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
03-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Forbes Daily: Chime, America's Largest Digital Bank Faces, IPO Reality
America's most successful self-made women are richer than ever before. The 100 entrepreneurs, executives and entertainers on Forbes' tenth annual ranking are worth a collective record of $155 billion. The list includes 38 billionaires, who made their fortunes through everything from cars to cosmetics to chardonnay. The list is once again topped by billionaire Diane Hendricks, the 78-year-old chair and owner of roofing and building materials wholesaler ABC Supply. But it also features newcomers like the majority owner of the Washington Spirit Michele Kang, and musician and actor Selena Gomez. And more than half of the women on the list saw their fortunes grow since last year. Photo Illustration by Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Chime, America's largest digital bank, is aiming for an IPO valuation of about $11 billion, a sharp drop from the $25 billion it fetched in a private fundraise in August 2021, near the peak of the fintech market bubble. But despite economic uncertainty, the 13-year-old bank is moving forward with its IPO plan, having grown its active customer base to 8.6 million by offering a no-fee checking account and debit card. In its latest economic outlook report, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development—an intergovernmental group that includes 38 of the world's top economies—warned that global economic growth is set to face a significant slowdown due to increased uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariffs. The OECD projects that global economic growth will drop from 3.3% in 2024 to 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, with the U.S. economy expected to be among the hardest hit. Wall Street's top watchdog, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, scored a key victory as the Supreme Court declined to hear a penny stock broker's legal challenge to its constitutionality. But FINRA still faces a threat in a new bill in Congress that would move the self-regulatory body's key powers to the SEC. Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images As Elon Musk still aims to make X an 'everything app,' he said this week he will start rolling out XChat, an encrypted messaging and calling platform that could be a competitor to WhatsApp. The update will expand the platform's direct messaging function, which Musk says will include encryption, file sharing, vanishing messages and audio or visual phone calls that can be made without a phone number. Kristi Noem testified before a House committee in May about the Department of Homeland Security's budget request. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem often emphasizes her rough-and-tumble rural roots, but today she's worth about $5 million, Forbes estimates. Much of that is due to her husband Bryon's insurance business: Noem Insurance has generated $1.1 million in salary and profits for him over the past two years. David Richardson, the acting head of FEMA, reportedly told staffers he was unaware that the U.S. had a hurricane season. While an agency spokesperson told various outlets the comments were made as a joke, they come as FEMA's workforce has been severely gutted by DOGE, with the USA Today reporting that about 2,000 of the agency's 6,100 full-time staff have been fired or resigned in recent months. Skims cofounder Kim Kardashian, TV talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and pop star Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Even celebrities are feeling the effects of the cooling economy. Forbes' new list of America's Richest Self-Made Women features 16 celebrities among its ranks, worth a combined $14.1 billion. But after years of booming entrepreneurship, the market is softening for celebrity-backed companies: Other than Selena Gomez, most of the stars' fortunes are little changed from a year ago. The suspect in the attack on a Boulder, Colorado gathering in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza was charged with a federal hate crime Monday after telling authorities while in custody that he wanted to 'kill all Zionist people.' Mohamed Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at the group gathered in front of the Boulder Courthouse on Sunday and yelled 'Free Palestine!' leaving eight injured, according to court documents. Gun control laws in Maryland and Rhode Island will stay in place, the Supreme Court ruled, as it declined to take up challenges to the bans. Nine states have assault weapons bans in place, as gun control has become a hot topic at the Supreme Court. Chris and Angie Long privately financed the Kansas City Current's $140 million CPKC Stadium When CPKC Stadium, the new home of the National Women's Soccer League's Kansas City Current, opened in March 2024, it was the first venue in the world developed primarily for a professional women's sports franchise. And while that milestone would be impressive enough on its own, the value that the 11,500-seat stadium has unlocked for the Current has been nothing short of transformative. The team, which previously played at Children's Mercy Park as a tenant under MLS's Sporting Kansas City, saw a 'more than $20 million revenue swing' in its first season at its new home, says Angie Long, who bought the franchise in 2020 with her husband Chris and privately financed the construction of the $140 million stadium. By bolstering business lines such as premium seating and tapping into new streams, including concessions, naming rights and third-party events, the Current generated $36 million in revenue in 2024—the best mark in the NWSL and nearly quadruple the league's median of $9.5 million, according to Forbes estimates. The club is now worth an estimated $275 million, second only to $280 million Angel City FC, despite playing in the fourth-smallest market in the 14-team league. The way the Longs see it, the growth has only just begun. The Current purposely held back in certain areas last season—limiting the number of non-NWSL events they hosted to keep the field pristine, for instance, and retaining some sponsorship assets until they had a better handle on what they were selling. With those guardrails now being lifted, the franchise is projecting $45 million in revenue in 2025. 'We're scratching the surface in every single way,' says Angie Long, a Kansas City native. WHY IT MATTERS 'Most other NWSL clubs would face plenty of hurdles trying to replicate the Current's model, but everyone around the sport is paying close attention to the experiment unfolding in Kansas City, and as the league continues to expand beyond 14 teams, facilities are becoming a much more important part of bids by new host markets,' says Forbes staff writer Justin Birnbaum. 'Women's soccer remains a long way from catching up to established men's pro leagues, but the Current are blazing a trail toward billion-dollar team valuations—perhaps in the not-too-distant future.' MORE The NWSL's Most Valuable Teams 2025 The buy now, pay later industry has exploded in recent years, but shares of Affirm Holdings have fallen in 2025. The default rate on such loans is rising, though industry executives say they're not worried: 13%: Affirm's stock losses so far this year $560 billion: The size of the BNPL industry in 2025, according to one report 'A Band-Aid on top of their credit card debt': How a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official described Americans' use of buy now, pay later loans to the New York Times If you've just found out you've been laid off, the next few days and weeks are critical. Don't panic apply just because you're anxious—it's better to identify a few employers you want to work for, connect with decision-makers at these companies and find the jobs for which they're hiring. And if you've been out of the job market for a number of years, consider rebranding yourself to highlight your most in-demand skills. We're officially in hurricane season, but another natural phenomenon is also approaching U.S. skies. What is it? A. The northern lights B. Tornadoes C. Saharan dust D. Wildfire smoke Check your answer. Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Musk kicks off xAI, Neuralink fundraises after DOGE farewell
Elon Musk is shifting his focus back to his businesses, with xAI seeking $5 billion to expand its AI footprint and Neuralink securing $650 million after successful clinical trials of its brain implant devices. X is rolling out XChat, a new direct message service, while Tesla appears hesitant to establish manufacturing in India despite initial interest. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Billionaire Elon Musk is busy raising fresh funds for his new-age companies as he steps away from politics and turns his focus back to running his businesses. The richest person in the world recently bid adieu to the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) amid a widespread backlash and his supposed disillusionment with the current xAI is looking to raise $5 billion, while Neuralink , also owned by him, has raised $650 million, according to reports. The former is vying to expand its footprint in the competitive artificial intelligence space, which is dominated by the likes of Microsoft, OpenAI and Google. The latter has started clinical trials for its brain implant AI startup xAI Corp is looking to sell debt worth $5 billion. Morgan Stanley, the bank that advised him on his $44-billion Twitter acquisition, is shopping the debt at a double-digit interest rate, news agency Bloomberg debt package includes a floating-rate term loan, a fixed-rate term loan, and senior secured notes. The funds will be used for general corporate purposes, with commitments due by June pricing discussions suggest a rate 7 percentage points above the benchmark for the floating-rate loan and around a 12% yield on the senior notes. The debt package has already seen strong investor demand, exceeding $3.5 debt is linked to XAI Holdings, which includes both xAI and Musk's social media platform X, which were merged in March via an all-stock deal valued at $33 billion. In April, Bloomberg reported that XAI Holdings was in talks to raise around $20 billion from is also selling $300 million in xAI stock through a secondary offering, eyeing a valuation of $113 billion, the Financial Times has been investing heavily in AI infrastructure, including xAI's Colossus supercomputer and a data centre in Memphis. The funds raised in the latest rounds could be used to finance these Monday, Neuralink, which makes brain implant chips to process and transmit neural signals, raised $650 million in a fresh funding round. ARK Invest, DFJ Growth, Founders Fund, G42, Human Capital, Lightspeed, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners and Vy Capital participated in the month, a Semafor report said that the company had raised $600 million at a valuation of $9 billion. The company had previously raised $280 million in a funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders brain chip is meant to help people with disabilities carry out day-to-day tasks by transmitting neural signals to computers and smartphones. In early tests, the implant has allowed the first patient to play video games, browse the internet, post on social media and move a cursor on his laptop directly with his company claims that five patients with severe paralysis are using Neuralink to control digital and physical devices with their thoughts. The company received a 'breakthrough' tag for its speech restoration device last month and vision-restoring device last year from the US Food and Drug forward with his plans to make X, formerly Twitter, into an 'everything app', Musk announced the rollout of the XChat direct message service on the new messaging feature is built on Rust with Bitcoin-style encryption, disappearing messages, cross-platform audio and video calls, and native filesharing Bitcoin-style encryption likely refers to elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), where each user has a secret private key and a public key. Messages are encrypted using the public key and can only be decrypted by the private vehicle (EV) major Tesla is not keen on manufacturing in India, union heavy industries minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Monday. The company had recently selected showroom space in Mumbai and even posted job offers in the the electric carmaker is yet to take any concrete steps towards setting up manufacturing facilities in remark came as India plans to invite formal applications under its new flagship EV policy, Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India.
