It seems that X has quietly removed its separate XChat app from both the Apple and Google Play stores as the company moves to consolidate more functionality into the main X app.
As reported by 9 to 5 Mac, late last week, the XChat app disappeared from both app stores. The outlet confirmed that X chose to unlist the app itself, as opposed to being suspended.
X launched its separate X Chat app in April, after beta testing it with selected users for several months.
Though even at launch, the creation of a separate chat app seemed to run counter to X owner Elon Musk’s stated vision of transforming X into an all-in-one “everything app,” within which users would be able to undertake all forms of interaction and transaction via a single platform.
Splitting XChat into its own space was either an acknowledgment that this vision was conceptually flawed, or possibly a means to demonstrate its updated messaging platform, which now includes more advanced security elements like encrypted messaging.
In this sense, having this as a separate, dedicated space may have been viewed as another potential avenue for X to secure money transmitter licenses in the U.S., which the company has been rejected for in several U.S. states. Maybe, a separate app, in isolation from X, could address some of the concerns, though X has now found another way to facilitate X Money payments.
In July, X announced a new payment support partnership with Cross River Bank, which now powers X Money accounts.
The removal of the XChat app lends credence to the idea that X only launched a separate chat app in a bid to win regulatory approval, and now, with X Money up and running, it doesn’t actually need a standalone app, so it can revert back to its everything app plan.
Either way, XChat is seemingly gone, with Aaron Perris from MacRumors also reporting that references to the app have been removed from the X source code.
