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X users can no longer send encrypted messages on the platform. The company said in an update that it's "pausing" the feature "while we work on making some improvements." Users will still be able to view previously-sent encrypted chats, but won't be able to send any new ones.

Up to now, encrypted DMs have been available only on messages between verified users who are mutual or who have previously accepted DMs from each other. Screenshots of the feature from X's help center labeled it as "early access." (Notably, there were a number of other important caveats to X's encryption, even when it was working, including the fact that encryption was never available for group chats, multimedia messages or metadata .)

It's unclear when the feature will be available again or if the "pause" has anything to do with "XChat," the company's yet-to-be-launched chat platform. X employees have been dropping hints about XChat, which will reportedly feature encrypted direct messages, for some time. Screenshots from leakers suggest XChat could have additional security features like PIN-protected chats.

Officially, though, X hasn't revealed much about XChat or what's going on with the current version of encrypted DMs. X's in-app inbox was one of the features that experienced numerous issues last week after a site-wide outage — possibly due to a fire at an Oregon facility used by the company — caused days of technical problems for the service. Updates on the company's developer platform page indicate some of those issues have yet to be resolved.

X didn't respond to a request for comment.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-pausing-encrypted-dms-215750222.html?src=rss

The innovative director David Lynch, who left indelible marks on film and television, passed away in January of this year. Now, Julien's Auctions is hosting the sale of The David Lynch Collection. More than 450 of the late director's possessions will be auctioned off online and at the company's auction house in Gardena, CA. For devotees of Lynch's work and worldview, just the experience of browsing the collection is pretty fascinating.

The auction showcases plenty of items closely related to his career in film, such as a personalized director's chair, multiple cameras, lighting kits and memorabilia from his many iconic works. Other pieces more broadly reflect his passion for creativity, like audio equipment, musical instruments, painting supplies and a whole lot of literature and vinyl records. The collection also has furniture, like the couch from his 1997 classic Lost Highway, kitchen wares and many personal items from his life. You can even bid on his LaserDisc player and disc collection.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/david-lynch-auction-offers-a-glimpse-of-his-personal-and-creative-life-223501136.html?src=rss

Telegram is adding xAI's Grok chatbot to its appGrok will be embedded into chat features like the search bar and pinned chatsThe deal has xAI paying Telegram $300 million to become a part of the appTelegram messages will have a sarcastic extra presence now, thanks to a deal made by the messaging app to bring xAI’s Grok chatbot to its platform.xAI’s flagship chatbot is known for a snarkier – and occasionally unhinged – approach to user interactions. That attitude will now be available to all users, having previously been limited to some premium Telegram users.Telegram CEO Pavel Durov shared a video on X showing how users will be able to pin Grok to the top of chats, summon it from the search bar, and use it to do all sorts of activities; from writing messages and summarizing group chats to creating stickers, answering trivia, and even serving as a moderator in community groups.Elon Musk’s AI company signed a deal with Telegram to embed Grok as a feature throughout the platform, paying $300 million for the privilege. Telegram is also getting 50% of the revenue from any Grok subscriptions purchased through the app, which could turn this into one of the most lucrative crossovers in chatbot history.🔥 This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market. @elonmusk and I have agreed to a 1-year partnership to bring xAI’s @grok to our billion+ users and integrate it across all Telegram apps 🤝💪 This also strengthens Telegram’s financial… pic.twitter.com/ZPK550AyRVMay 28, 2025Grok at workIf this all sounds vaguely familiar, that’s because it sounds a lot like Meta's strategy for Meta AI. The AI assistant has become part of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in a similar fashion to Grok in Telegram. Grok serves as Telegram’s answer to Meta AI, encouraging people to stay on the platform rather than look elsewhere for help from an AI source.The $300 million being paid by xAI may sound over-the-top, but it makes sense when you consider what xAI gets out of it. Telegram is one of the most-used messaging apps on the planet. Getting even a fraction of the more than 900 million monthly active Telegram users to try Grok would be a massive boon for the chatbot. And that's not even considering the value of the data Grok will get from Telegram users. It's a massive pool of real-time interaction data, which could fuel Grok's development in ways xAI is eager to pursue.Since the real power of AI data comes from how real people interact, $300 million might end up being a bargain. Grok can learn a lot from what hundreds of millions of people ask, how they phrase things, and what tone they use, depending on whether they're happy, mad, flirty, or confused. xAI now has a front-row seat to that data firehose.Naturally, the Grok integration will raise a few eyebrows when questions of privacy, data ownership, and how our data is used are brought up. Neither xAI nor Telegram has provided much detail about how Grok will handle user data or whether any of that data will be used to further train the model, which one must assume will be the case.Grok may become the helpful assistant it's pitched as, or it could be another feature that people Google how to turn off, just like Meta AI. There’s also the question of moderation.Durov demonstrated how Grok might help clean up spammy group chats, but Grok's tone would likely clash with a Telegram group discussing sensitive issues, and things could go very wrong if Grok misinterprets the context in a heated argument.You might also likeGrok may start remembering everything you ask it to do, according to new reportsI tried Grok’s new AI image editing features – they’re fun but won’t replace Photoshop any time soonGrok 3’s voice mode is unhinged, and that’s the point