Have you ever felt the need to send a private message to someone on Twitter without being followed by the person? Well, Twitter is making that possible in the new update.
In a company's official blog post on Monday, the popular micro-blogging website revealed that the new change is being rolled out to all its users worldwide on both mobile and PC. The company will have the new option turned off by default, but users can change the settings to allow others to send Direct Message (DM) to them privately without following.
Previously, if users wanted to send a DM to another user on Twitter, they can only do that if the recipient is a follower. With this new change, everything changes as the process to contact anyone gets a lot simpler. This mainly benefits businesses that have their official Twitter accounts and acknowledge feedbacks and receive appraisals online.
"Previously, if you wanted to send a Direct Message to the ice cream shop down the street about how much you love their salted caramel flavor, you'd have to ask them to follow you first. With today's changes, the ice cream shop can opt to receive Direct Messages from anyone; so you can privately send your appreciation for the salted caramel without any barriers," Hu Vuong, Twitter's Senior Software Engineer, revealed in a blog post.
How to receive Direct Messages from anyone?
In order to allow other users to send you DM on Twitter, follow the steps below:
- Log in to you Twitter account on web.
- Go to Security and Privacy tab from your profile's left panel.
- Scroll to the last option "Direct Messages" and put a check next to "Receive Direct Messages from anyone".
Note: By selecting this option, you will receive messages from users who you do not follow. Uncheck the option to revert back to the original changes.
How to allow DM from anyone on your Android app?
- Tap the overflow icon (3 vertically lined dots) on the top right-hand corner of your Twitter app
- Tap Settings
- Select @username account
- Under Other tab, tap Receive Direct Messages from anyone.
How to allow DM from anyone on your iOS app?
- Tap the gear icon under Me tab
- Go to Settings
- Tap @username account
- Go to Privacy
- Tap Receive Direct Messages from anyone
After making the changes, if you do not wish to receive DMs from a particular user, block him/her. It's noteworthy that Twitter only allows users to send 1,000 DMs per day, after which users will not be able to send anymore.
