Twitter has made a number of significant changes to its Direct Messages Feature. In the past, Direct Messages have been a bit of a hit and a miss. Photos were not allowed in DMs and neither were non-Twitter links for some time. In addition, there were some red-faced moments where DMs would be shared on the main timelines of people.
No more though. Twitter has taken action to redeem itself and slowly but steadily, there has been progress. You can now send pictures via DM, kinks with link sharing have been ironed out and Twitter has also introduced a Group DM feature where you can add up to 20 people and share messages.
Now, there have been more significant changes which will fundamentally alter how you use the platform. Here they are:
Users Can Now Receive Messages from Anyone:
Allowing users to get Direct Messages from anyone, even if you don’t follow them. The feature has already rolled out to everyone so all you need is to go to Options -> Security -> Privacy -> Direct Messages and click on “Allow Direct Messages from everyone”. This option could be a significant attraction to advertisers who could use Twitter for mass advertising.
You Can Reply to Anyone Who Sends You A Private Message:
The second feature is that you can now reply to anyone who sends you a private message, regardless of whether he/she follows you back. In the past if you followed someone, that person was able to send you a direct message but you were unable to reply back. Now if the person you follow sends you a direct message, you can reply to it without that person having to follow you back.
Improved DM Experience on Mobile:
It is now easier to send Direct Messages to friends via your iOS and Android apps. There is an option for direct messaging right on the profile of the person. It was available in the web version but was unavailable in the mobile version till now. Earlier you had to search for the DM button and it was quite a pain.
