Twitter Now Allows DMs From People You Don’t Follow

Twitter is now giving users the option to accept direct messages DMs from people they don’t follow.  Until now anyone that you don’t follow on Twitter can’t send you a private message, they could send a public message with your Twitter name in it.  [quote_box_right]Sending and receiving DMs are a bit like exchanging email, only with a 140 character limit.[/quote_box_right]

To enable this option go to Twitter settings page  and allow anyone who follows you (not necessarily people you follow) to send you a DM. And if you change your mind, you can later go to the same page to opt-out.

While the change is pretty minor, it’s important that turning it on is optional. Making it automatic would’ve left ordinary users like me not so pleased, because it means everyone will just be sending me all sort of Direct messages to me.  i think, the current option will appeal most to the people running brand and business accounts.

That kind of focus on business suggests that it’s also another in the series of tweaks Twitter has made in a bid to be more commercially friendly as it moves towards its IPO.

The new DM option appears to be gradually rolling out and may not be available to you yet. When it is however, you’ll be able to activate it by going to the Twitter Settings Page.