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X now offers audio and video calls, but it’s easy to turn off

A couple of months after landing the CEO job at X (formerly Twitter) in May, Linda Yaccarino said: “X will be the platform that can deliver, well … everything.”

Part of that includes audio and video calls, which the company has just started to roll out for users globally.

The new feature is wrapped up in the app’s latest update, which became widely available on Wednesday.

If you can’t face the idea of yet another app with audio and video calls, then you can easily turn off the feature and continue to use the app in the usual way.

To turn off audio and video calls on X, simply take the following steps:

  • Select your profile picture
  • Select Settings and support
  • Select Settings and privacy
  • Select Privacy and safety
  • Select Direct messages
  • Turn off the slider that says, Enable audio and video calling.

On the other hand, if you’re cool with the new feature, simply leave the slider in the “on” position and check the boxes corresponding to those from whom you’re happy to receive calls. The options are people in your address book, people you follow, and verified users. You can check any number of these three options.

Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter a year ago for $44 billion, posted a message on the platform on Wednesday describing the new feature as an “early version,” suggesting a number of changes may be on the way soon.

Musk has said on several occasions how he wants to transform the platform into a so-called “super-app” offering a wide variety of services, similar to China’s popular WeChat platform.

Additional services could include things like banking, payments, meal delivery, ridesharing, shopping, and so on.

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