X, the messaging app formerly known as Twitter, plans to add video calling as a feature in the future, says new CEO Linda Yaccarino. It’s the first step in owner Elon Musk’s well-known strategy to transform X into an app for everything.
There were already indications that the social media company was working on a video-calling function. That was due to an accidental leak from a company employee who shared screenshots of an internal test setup. It showed a chat conversation with a telephone icon on the right. But at the end of last week, CEO Linda Yaccarino officially announced the new position during an interview with the American news channel CNBC.
It is unknown when that (video) calling function will be available. But there are already first indications of special functions. For example, the users will not need to exchange each other’s telephone numbers. And the employee who shared the screenshots earlier this month indicated that users can determine who can call them via X and who cannot. The next step, as indicated in the same conversation, will be the possibility of making payments via the app.
Speaking to CNBC, Yaccarino, who joined the company’s ranks in June, also firmly stated that the new feature fits in with the broader strategy of turning the former Twitter into an app for just about everything a user needs. “I joined the company to work with Elon to transform Twitter into X, the everything app. The rebranding meant liberation from Twitter. She enabled us to evolve beyond a legacy mindset. X is going to change how we come together, how we entertain and how we trade, all on one platform.”
When asked if anything is also being done about the proliferation of disinformation and hate speech on the platform since Musk’s acquisition, which sparked an exodus of concerned advertisers, Yaccarino said the Trust and Safety team, which hunts for the content of concern, ” healthier’ than when Twitter was still a publicly traded company. But “you may not agree” with all the posts that appear on it, she added.