Twitter has for years tested a feature that would allow anyone to opt in to receiving direct messages from other users on its platform, even if the accounts weren’t following each other as per earlier requirements. This setting was rolled out to a portion of Twitter’s user base in 2013, but never became an option for the general public. That changes today, says Twitter, which announced this morning that now anyone on its network can opt to accept direct messages from any other Twitter user.
Previously, in order to receive a direct message from another person, you would have to be following that user on Twitter. For some public figures, and especially for journalists, that restriction made it difficult to communicate more privately. For reporters, it could also potentially tip people off about one’s sources, since users would have to engage in public tweets asking to get a follow back so they could send that direct message in the first place.
In the past, Twitter users including brands and some Verified Users have been able to, in some cases, turn on this setting that would open up their Direct Message inbox to anyone. But now anyone can turn this option on for themselves, if they choose. (Twitter says the feature is rolling out now – so if you don’t yet see it in your Settings, just check back in a bit.)
Related to this change, the company is also updating its messaging rules so you can reply to incoming DM’s regardless of whether or not that person follows you in return. And to better highlight the newly added option, Twitter says that a new Direct Message button will appear on profile pages on both Android and iPhone. This button will only appear on the profiles of people you can send Direct Messages to, making it more obvious with a glance who’s turned on the feature already.
The updates come a time when Twitter has been focusing heavily on improving the Direct Messaging for its users, in light of a shift in the mobile application ecosystem which sees private communication apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp significantly growing their respective user bases and increasing user engagement. In recent months, Twitter has rolled out a number of changes to DM’s, including support for group DM’s and the ability to share public tweets via DM’s, for example.
As to why Twitter has made the decision to finally introduce this setting more publicly after all these years, the answer was hinted at in the company blog post, it seems. Here, Twitter offers an example of how this feature could be used by businesses, noting that if users wanted to tweet their feedback to a local ice cream shop, they would first have to ask the shop to follow them. Now that business could simply adjust a setting in order to hear from all their customers – even if those customers didn’t want to be publicly tweeting their thoughts and opinions.
We had previously heard that this use case for brands and businesses was something Twitter wanted to focus on in the near future, as it would allow users and brands to communicate directly and privately without the hassle of the following request. This is important because many businesses use Twitter for customer support, and that can sometimes require the exchange of personal and private information, including financial info, which takes place over DMs.
from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/XmklKpJW4Q4/
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