Previously only people that followed you on Twitter could DM you, if you followed them too – however, as of April 2015, this has all changed and if you want you can be DMed by anyone, whether you are following them, they’re following you or if neither of you are following each other.

You will have to go into your Twitter account and ‘opt in’ so to speak, changing your settings to accept DMs from anyone, allowing you to receive direct messages from them and to reply to their direct message, even if one of you or neither of you follow the other person.

The thought process of Twitter, behind this move, was for them to open up “a powerful and engaging experience for users beyond the confines of their contacts” – well, that’s how they worded it anyway. This is after the recent introduction of group direct messages to defend themselves against apps like Snapchat, Facebook and WhatsApp.

However, it’s important to take careful consideration of a few things before running to Twitter and opening your account to direct messages from everyone. Please bear in mind that this opens up spammy sales messages and porn links, etc and will be another area for harassment.

On the other hand, if you do make an error in a tweet and you haven’t noticed someone can tweet you and let you know through a direct message, instead of a public tweet that everyone can see and it may cause some embarrassment.

If you are unsure if you want to open your direct messages to everyone or if you want to keep it locked to just people that follow you and you follow them then feel free to give us a call, we are always happy to offer advice and guidance.

We offer a wide range of social media training on a one-to-one basis, to a team in a business or in a workshop – if you would like to know more please call or email us.