Kenyans on X, formerly Twitter, can now make audio and video calls on the platform. This is by far one of the biggest leaps ever since Twitter’s rebrand to X started. It adds to the many options we already have in the country when it comes to calls. But according to Elon Musk, support for audio and video calls is necessary if X is to become the “everything app” he so much craves for.
As I pen this, the early version of video and audio calling support on X is now rolling out. Musk had previously hinted that these features will be limited to blue subscribers. And true to his word, you only get to initiate calls if you pay the monthly X Premium subscription. Anyone, including non-subscribers like yours truly, can receive calls.
You can receive calls from accounts you follow. You can also receive calls from people in your smartphone address book, but you must give the app permission to access your contacts for this to work. What caught my eye is you must receive a DM from someone at least once before you can call them.
Just like other apps that offer audio and video calls, Twitter users also get a mute button, speakerphone, and ability to switch between back and selfie cameras. You can also disable the feature if not interested, which is what I’d do. Unfortunately for our readers on X, support for voice and audio calls is still limited to iOS and through the web browser on desktop and laptops. But the wait on Android shouldn’t be long.
