OpenAI’s ChatGPT May Get Direct Messaging, Evolving Into a Social Platform
OpenAI appears to be developing a direct messaging (DM) feature for ChatGPT, a significant step towards transforming the AI chatbot into a comprehensive ‘everything app’ with social capabilities.
Key Takeaways
- Direct messaging feature discovered in Android beta, codenamed “Calpico” and “Calpico Rooms.”
- Enables collaborative brainstorming, planning, searching, and image creation.
- User privacy maintained by restricting access to personal ChatGPT memories.
- Potential for group chats via invite links, though end-to-end encryption status is unconfirmed.
The Push for an ‘Everything App’
OpenAI’s broader ambition has become increasingly evident. Following the launch of the Sora 2 video model and a TikTok-like video app, the company introduced an ‘Apps SDK’ for developers to build specialized AI apps within ChatGPT, directly competing with major app stores. The existing ChatGPT Agent already performs autonomous tasks for users.
The New Social Feature
The DM feature was spotted by Tibor Blaho, Lead Engineer at AIPRM.com. He confirmed its discovery on the ChatGPT Android beta, noting its similarity to the DM feature in the Sora app for iPhone.
According to Blaho’s findings on X, the feature will allow users to “brainstorm ideas, plan together, ask, search, create images, and chat together.” A key privacy safeguard ensures no participant can access another user’s personal ChatGPT memory.
Privacy Considerations and Past Issues
A critical unanswered question is whether these chats will have end-to-end encryption, a standard on platforms like WhatsApp and Signal.
Privacy remains a significant concern for OpenAI. A previous ‘share’ feature, launched in August, accidentally made user chats discoverable on Google Search. The company had to collaborate with search engines to remove the indexed data and roll back the feature.
