X Enables Twitter Calls By Default, Here’s How To Turn Them Off
Musk has not made it a secret that he wants X to be the one place people turn to for everything. The richest man on the planet (at least currently) has been busy having X devs build new features, such as livestreaming within the app, in order to entice users to not only stay on the app, but to use X for as many things as possible. Now, X is making it possible to make audio and video calls from within the app as well. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, here is how to turn the feature off that is on by default.
In order to disable the feature, users will need to go to their direct messages and then tap on the gear icon in the top right of the screen. This will open up the settings menu for messages. Users will then want to find the toggle for “Enable audio and video calling” and then toggle it off. This will prevent anyone from being able to call via the X app.
For those who find the idea of making audio and video calls from within the X app a good idea, there are options to reduce unwanted calls. Users can choose to only receive audio and video calls from people in their address book, people they follow, verified users, and of course, the “Everyone” option.
Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that the “Enhanced call privacy” option is turned off by default. When turned on, a user’s IP address will not be revealed to the person contacting them during a call. According to the X Help Center webpage, if both parties to a call have the setting disabled, the call is routed peer-to-peer, making both parties IP address visible to the other. However, if one party has the feature enabled, the call will be relayed through the X infrastructure, and the IP address of any party that has the setting toggled on will be masked from the other party.
Anyone who would like to give making an audio and/or a video call via X a try, first tap the envelope icon on the app’s main page. This will direct the user to their messages. Once there, tap on an existing direct message conversation, or start a new conversation. Tap on the phone icon, and from there users are able to either tap Audio call to start an audio call, or tap Video call to launch a video call. If the person being called has the feature turned on, they will receive a notification that another user is calling them. If they don’t pick up, they will receive a missed call notification.
It isn’t surprising that X turned on the feature for making and receiving audio and video calls by default. It also isn’t surprising that it left a feature that protects the privacy of a user turned off by default. After all, privacy on the internet is not a given.
