Social Rocket
X continues to expand chat within the main app, even though the standalone XChat app was recently removed from Apple's App Store and Google Play. What has now launched is X Numbers: private contact codes that let other users start conversations with you and, depending on your settings, initiate audio or video calls, even if the two accounts don't follow each other.
In its official help documentation, X makes clear that an X Number is not a phone number and is also not identical to the security numbers used for encrypted chats. The code is optional, can be disabled or regenerated at any time, and serves as an additional way in to an otherwise closed inbox.
X Numbers deliberately bypass closed inboxes
According to the official X help, someone with a valid X Number can write directly to the chat inbox, even if the recipient doesn't follow them and doesn't allow standard message requests. The conversation lands directly in the inbox area rather than in the requests.
This can be practical for events, customer contact, creator collaborations or selected business partners: an account can share a temporary contact code without revealing its real phone number or requiring the other party to follow first.
Important for control: users can hide the code, switch it off or replace it using Refresh. Anyone who only knows the old code can no longer start a new conversation through it.
The code is shareable – and therefore deliberately sensitive
X itself points out that existing chat contacts can see and pass on an X Number. Anyone who holds the current code can use it to initiate messages or calls for as long as the feature is active.
For brands and public accounts, this is therefore not a universal contact channel to publish carelessly and permanently. More sensible uses are limited ones – such as a trade fair, a creator event or a defined support period – followed by a Refresh.
Chat lives on even though the standalone app is gone
The new feature is also a clear signal against the assumption that X is scaling back messaging overall. The standalone XChat app was removed from the app stores, but chat within X continues to be developed.
The separate client had only launched a few months earlier. Why X has removed it again is still not officially explained. The current development fits the everything-app logic better, though: messaging, calls and other features remain bundled in X's central product.
For social media teams, chat therefore remains relevant for community management and direct communication. In parallel, X is making reach restrictions more transparent with "Under the Hood", while our overview of X usage in the EU puts the platform's size in the European market into context.
Encryption remains subject to limitations
X continues to describe chat as an encrypted messaging layer. The content of encrypted conversations, media, files and reactions is protected; metadata such as recipients or timestamps is not. According to X, different encryption conditions also apply when Grok is active.
For companies, this means X Numbers simplify access to DMs but do not change the fact that sensitive support or customer data should still be handled under a clear internal privacy and escalation rule.