Here’s How and Why You Should Disable Them

X (formerly Twitter) has made audio and video calling available to everyone. However, since the feature is enabled by default, you should know how to disable it and some important information about how calling on X works. And that’s the case whether you’re happy to make and receive calls on X or not.

Audio and Video Calling on X Is Now Enabled by Default

Audio and video calling, which was previously limited to X Premium users, has now been opened up to all users and enabled by default on all X accounts. This change was made at the end of February 2024, with X announcing it in a post on the platform (as seen below).

X added audio and video calling capabilities to the platform on iOS in October 2023 and Android in January 2024. However, while everyone could receive calls, only X Premium subscribers could make calls. Now, everyone can both make and receive calls, regardless of whether they pay for the privilege of using X.

Opening the calling feature up to everyone sounds like a positive move. However, it being enabled by default means you could now receive a call without wanting one—or even knowing that you have the feature enabled.

How Audio and Video Calls Work on X

X’s calling function is somewhat confusing. It’s difficult to figure out who you can call and who can call you, but we’ll do our best to help you understand it. The basic premise is that all accounts are able to both make and receive calls. However, who you can call and who can call you depends on both parties’ settings.

By default, you’re able to receive calls from anyone you follow or have in your address book (if you have given X access to your contact list). But you can change this in your Direct Messages settings by selecting the Cog icon in the top-right of the Direct Messages tab.

Here, you’ll find the option to enable or disable audio and video calling, as well as checkboxes for which groups of people you’re happy to have call you. There’s also a checkbox for Enhanced call privacy, which you need to enable to “avoid revealing your IP address to your contact during the call.”

To call someone, tap the Messages tab in the bottom-right of the app, choose who you want to call, then hit either the Camera icon (for a video call) or the Telephone icon (for an audio call). You’ll only see the option to call someone if they have sent at least one DM to you.

To receive a call, you need to accept when you see the notification that someone is calling you. See our guide to fixing missing Android notifications if you run into problems.

How to Turn X’s Calling Feature Off

As X’s calling feature is now enabled by default, if you want to opt out, you have to do so manually:

1. Open X on your phone and tap the Messages tab in the bottom-right.
2. In the next window, where you can see your DM conversations, tap the Settings cog in the top-right.
3. If you want to disable audio and video calling completely, set the slider next to Enable audio and video calling to the left.
4. If you want to keep audio and video calling enabled, but limit who can call you, check and uncheck the boxes under Allow audio and video calls from as you see fit.
5. The safest option for those keeping the calling feature enabled is to limit it to People in your address book, but that means sharing your contacts with X.

Why You Should Turn X’s Calling Feature Off

Though X has calls on for everyone by default, we recommend you at least consider turning the feature off. The most important reason is that while you can choose not to call anyone, as long as the feature remains enabled, people can still call you. Given that X already has a spam problem, this isn’t ideal.

Another more subjective reason is that calling people on X leaves a lot to be desired. To write this guide, I called my editor on X twice; once with audio and once with video. In both cases, the audio quality was shocking, with a hefty delay, and with neither of us able to hear each other well enough to hold a conversation.

What to Consider Before Leaving X Calls Enabled

If you’re happy to keep X’s calling feature enabled, allowing people to call you, at least consider the following first.

Unless you enable Enhanced call privacy (as previously mentioned), you could be leaking your IP address to the person you’re speaking to. This is because standard calls are, according to X’s Help Center, “routed peer-to-peer such that each parties [sic] IP address may be visible to the other.” However, if either party has enabled the Enhanced call privacy option, the call will be “relayed through X infrastructure, and the IP address of any party that has this setting enabled will be masked.”

While leaking your IP address isn’t the end of the world, it also isn’t ideal. You should be aware of what someone can do with your IP address, especially if revealing your location would pose a special danger to you.

Another thing to consider is the supposed lack of end-to-end encryption. As X doesn’t mention calls being encrypted in any of its documentation, we can infer that they’re likely not encrypted. Which, if true, would allow X to listen in on those conversations.

Given that most messaging apps now allow you to call people, we’re not surprised that X/Twitter has opened the feature up to all. However, enabling it by default assumes that everyone wants to call and be called by people they only know online. And the potential privacy issues that X calling currently has, combined with the feature being lousy anyway, means we recommend you disable the feature.