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Social network X (formerly Twitter) has started rolling out audio and video calling support to Android users.
“Audio and video calls on X slowly rolling out for Android users today! Update your app and call your mother.” Enrique, who is one of the engineers working on the project, said.
Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO, first announced video chat on the platform last August as part of her and owner Elon Musk’s plan to create an “everything” app. Of course, the perks that come along with their grand plan, including placing audio and video calls, are primarily available only to premium subscribers. However, any users can receive calls, whether or not they help fund Musk’s dreams (which will cost you $8 per month or $84 annually).
audio and video calls on X slowly rolling out for android users today! update your app and call your mother
— Enrique 🦖 (@enriquebrgn) January 18, 2024
X currently offers three paid tiers: Basic, Premium, and Premium+. Each higher tier comes with more features such as a blue checkmark, ads revenue sharing, longer video uploads, edit posts, and access to the xAI chatbot Grok. While the Premium tier sets users back by $8 every month, the Basic ($3/mo) and Premium+ ($16/mo) tiers were added a few months ago.
To start a call with an X user, open their DM (Direct Messages) conversation in the app or start a new conversation, then pick the desired option to start an audio/video call. The company explains in a support document that all accounts can receive calls in the app, however, you can control who can call you from the DM Settings.
You can only initiate an audio/video call with a user whom you have texted at least once, and you need to have push notifications enabled to get notified when you receive a call. While the calling works in a peer-to-peer fashion by default, a setting called Enhanced Call Privacy can hide your IP address by routing the traffic through the X infrastructure.