The basics
- You can start a private conversation or create a group conversation with anyone who follows you.
- Anyone you do not follow can send you a Direct Message if:
- You have opted in to receive Direct Messages from anyone
*
or;
- They are Verified and you have opted in to receive Direct Messages from Verified users or;
- You have previously sent that person a Direct Message.
- Anyone in a conversation can send Direct Messages to the group. Everyone in a group can see all messages, even if everyone doesn’t follow each other.
- In group conversations, anyone in the conversation can add other participants. Newly added participants won’t see the prior history of the conversation.
- Some accounts, particularly businesses on X, have enabled a setting to receive Direct Messages from anyone. You can send a Direct Message to these accounts even if they don’t follow you.
- Some accounts have enabled a setting to receive Direct Messages from Verified accounts. You can send a Direct Message to these accounts if your account is Verified.
- In both group and one-on-one conversations, you cannot be in a conversation with an account you block.
*Note
: For some people who create a new account on X, your account settings may already be set to receive message requests from other people you don't follow. These requests are kept separate from your other DMs until you accept them. You can accept the request to continue the conversation. To disable message requests, go to your
Settings
.?
To send a Direct Message from X for iOS
- Tap the
envelope
icon. You’ll be directed to your
messages
.
- Tap the
message
icon
? to create a new message.
- In the address box, enter the name(s) or @username(s) of the people you wish to send a message to. A group message can include up to 256 people.
- Enter your message.
- In addition to text, you can include a photo, video, or GIF with your Direct Message. From the message compose bar, or the
plus
icon?
you can access the following options:
- Tap the
photo
icon
to take a photo or record a video, or attach one from your device gallery. You have the option to edit your photo before sending your message. Tap on the photo to bring up editing screen where you can enhance, crop, and add filters. When you are done editing, tap
Save
. Learn?more about
advanced photo options
.
- To include an animated GIF in your message, tap the
GIF
icon
?to search for and select a file from the media library.
- To send your message, tap the
paper airplane
icon?
To delete a Direct Message or conversation:
- To delete a Direct Message, tap and hold the message and select
Delete message
from the menu that pops up.
- To delete an entire conversation from your inbox, swipe left on the conversation and tap the
trash can
icon
?You can also delete an entire conversation by tapping the
information
icon
?and selecting
Delete conversation
from the
Conversation info
page.
- When you delete a Direct Message or conversation (sent or received), it is deleted from your account only. Others in the conversation will still be able to see Direct Messages or conversations that you have deleted.
To manage a group conversation:
- To quickly access the list of conversation participants, tap the
profile
photo of the group conversation from your inbox.?
- From within a group conversation, tap on the
information
icon
?to bring up a settings page.
- Settings details:
- Tap
Edit
to update the group conversation profile photo and name. To change the photo, tap the
camera
icon in the photo to
Choose from library
or
Take new photo
. Tap
Save
to update.?
Note
: Once you update the photo, you’ll have the option to
Remove current photo
,
View current photo
,
Choose from library
, or
Take new photo
.
- Tap
Add members
to add people to the conversation.
- Drag the slider next to
Snooze conversation
to snooze notifications for
1 hour
,
8 hours
,
1 week
, or
Forever
.?
- Drag the slider next to
Snooze mentions
to control whether you will receive notifications when you are mentioned in a group conversation. Please note that, unless this feature is enabled, you will receive notifications when you are directly mentioned in a conversation, even if you have enabled the
Snooze conversation
feature. Additionally, you must be a participant in a group conversation to receive mention notifications for that conversation.
- To report the group conversation, tap
Report conversation
.
- To remove yourself from the group conversation, tap
Leave conversation
.?
To send a Direct Message from X for Android
- Tap the
envelope
icon. You’ll be directed to your messages.
- Tap the
message
icon
?to create a new message.
- In the address box, enter the name(s) or @username(s) of the people you wish to send a message to. A group message can include up to 256 people.
- Enter your message.
- In addition to text, you can include a photo, video, or GIF via Direct Message.
- Tap the
photo
icon
?to take a photo or record a video, or attach one from your device gallery. You have the option to edit your photo through your X for iOS or X for Android app before sending your message. Tap on the photo to bring up editing screen where you can enhance, crop, and add filters. When you are done editing, tap
Save
.?Learn?more about?
advanced photo options
.
- To include an animated GIF in your message, tap the
GIF
icon
?to search for and select a file from the media library.
- Tap the
send
icon.
To delete a Direct Message or conversation:
- To delete a Direct Message, tap and hold the message and select
Delete message
from the menu that pops up.
- To delete an entire conversation from your inbox, tap and hold the conversation and select
Delete conversation
. You can also delete an entire conversation by tapping the
information
icon
?and selecting
Delete conversation
from the
Conversation info
page.
- When you delete a Direct Message or conversation (sent or received), it is deleted from your account only. Others in the conversation will still be able to see Direct Messages or conversations that you have deleted.
To manage a group conversation:
- To quickly access the list of conversation participants, tap the profile photo of the group conversation from your inbox.
- From within a group conversation, tap on the
information
icon?
to bring up a settings page.
- Settings details:
- Tap
Edit
to update the group conversation profile photo and name. Tap the
camera
icon to bring up the following photo options:
View photo
,
Camera
,
Photo Gallery
, or
Remove photo
. Tap
Save
to update.
- Tap
Add members
to add people to the conversation.??The creator of the group is the default admin. If the creator is no longer in the group, the first member to join the group after the admin will become the admin. As the group admin, you are able to remove members from the group.
- Tap
Snooze conversation
to snooze notifications for
1 hour
,
8 hours
,
1 week
, or
Forever
.?
- Check the box next to
Snooze mentions
?to control whether you will receive notifications when you are mentioned in a group conversation. Please note that, unless this feature is enabled, you will receive notifications when you are directly mentioned in a conversation, even if you have enabled the?
Snooze conversation
?feature.?Additionally, you must be a participant in a group conversation to receive mention notifications for that conversation.
- To report the group conversation, tap
Report conversation
.
- To remove yourself from the group conversation, tap
Leave conversation
.
To send a Direct Message via the web
- Click
Messages
in the left navigation bar.
- You'll see your Direct Message history. Click the
New message
icon at the top.
- In the address box, enter the name(s) or @username(s) of the people you wish to send a message to. A group message can include up to 256 people.
- Click
Next
- In the message box, you can include a photo, video, GIF, or emoji via Direct Message:
- Click the photo icon to upload a photo or video.
- To include an animated GIF in your message, tap the GIF icon to search for and select a file from the media library.
- Click the
Send
button or press the enter key to send.?
Note
: To start a new line in a message, press the shift and enter keys at the same time. Pressing only the enter key will send your message.
To delete a Direct Message or conversation:
- To delete a Direct Message, click on the message and select
Delete
.
- To leave a conversation, locate the conversation and click to open it. Click the
information?
icon, and select
Leave conversation
.
- When you delete a Direct Message or leave a conversation (sent or received), it is deleted from your account only. Others in the conversation will still be able to see Direct Messages or conversations that you have deleted.
To manage a group conversation:
- From within a group conversation, click on the
information
icon?
to access the conversation settings:
- From within the
Group info
page, click the
more
icon?
to access the drop-down menu. You can choose to
Edit group name
,
Upload new photo
,
View photo,
or
Remove photo
.
Note:
The option to view and remove the photo will be available only if a group message photo is uploaded.
- Under
Notifications
, you can select to:?
- Click
Snooze notifications
to snooze notifications for
1 hour
,
8 hours
,
1 week
, or
Forever
.?
- Click
Snooze mentions
?to control whether you will receive notifications when you are mentioned in a group conversation. Please note that, unless this feature is enabled, you will receive notifications when you are directly mentioned in a conversation, even if you have enabled the?
Snooze conversation
?feature.?Additionally, you must be a participant in a group conversation to receive mention notifications for that conversation.
- To report the group conversation, click
Report conversation
.
- To remove yourself from the group conversation, click
Leave conversation
.
Revisit conversations by searching keywords and names in the Direct Messages search bar.
This feature lets you pin your favorite conversations to the top of your DM inbox so you can find them easily. Pin up to six conversations at a time.
To snooze Direct Message notifications
You can snooze notifications for Direct Messages for
1 hour
,
8 hours
,
1 week
, or
Forever
. When you snooze a Direct Message conversation, you will still receive new messages, but you won’t receive a notification each time.?
Note:
Unless the
Snooze mentions
setting is enabled, you will still receive notifications when you are directly mentioned in a group conversation that you are a part of.
How to snooze from within a Direct Message conversation on X.com, X for iOS, and X for Android:
- Navigate to the Direct Message you’d like to snooze.
- Click or tap into the message settings.
- Click or tap the
information
icon?
then select
Snooze notifications
.?
- From the pop-up menu, select the snooze time interval you’d like:
1 hour
,
8 hour
s,
1 week
, or
Forever
.?
- To unsnooze, click or tap the
information
icon, then click or tap the slider for?
snooze notifications
.
How to snooze from your Direct Message inbox on X for iOS:
- Navigate to your Direct Message inbox.
- Find the conversation you’d like to snooze.
- Swipe left on the message and tap the
notifications
icon?
Note
: You can also choose to
report
?or
delete
?a conversation when you swipe left.
- From the pop-up menu, select the snooze time interval you’d like:
1 hour
,
8 hours
,
1 week
, or
Forever
.?
- To unsnooze, swipe left and tap the
snoozed notifications
icon?
How to snooze from your Direct Message inbox on X for Android:
- Navigate to your Direct Message inbox.
- Find the conversation you’d like to snooze.
- Long-press on the message and tap
Snooze notifications
.
- From the pop-up menu, select the snooze time interval you’d like:
1 hour
,
8 hours
,
1 week
, or
Forever
.?
- To unsnooze, long-press on the message and tap
Unsnooze notifications
.
How to snooze from a Direct Message push notification:
- Find the Direct Message push notification on your mobile device’s lock screen you’d like to snooze:
- From the X for iOS app: Swipe left on the lock screen push notification, tap
View
, then tap
Snooze for 1 hour
.
- From the X for Android app: Swipe down on the lock screen push notification, then tap
Snooze
.?
- Conversation notifications will be snoozed for one hour.?
To share a post via Direct Message
Sharing a post
via Direct Message is a great way to spark a conversation with a group of friends.?
To receive Direct Messages from anyone
You can receive messages from anyone if you check the box next to
Allow Messages requests from everyone
in your
Privacy and safety settings
on twitter.com. You can also adjust this setting via the X for iOS or X for Android apps. If you enable this option, anyone can message you and add you to group conversations.
If you’re a
Creator
on 𝕏, you can select the checkbox next to
Allow messages from my subscribers
which will allow your subscribers to send you messages independent of other settings you can select. This setting is off by default.?
If you’re a Subscriber with an active Subscription, you will be able to message the Creator if the setting is enabled.? However, the Creator can disable this setting at any time.
If you’re a Creator who has enabled this setting and has replied to a message from your subscriber, they will be able to continue messaging you
even if you subsequently disable the setting
. If you don’t reply to the initial message and then disable the setting, your subscriber won’t be able to send you messages.
To change your settings using X for iOS:
- Tap the
navigation menu
.
- Select
Settings and privacy
.
- Tap
Privacy and safety
.
- Under
Direct Messages
, and next to
Allow messages requests from everyone
, drag the slider to allow anyone to send you Direct Messages.
To change your settings using X for Android
:
- In the top menu, you will either see a
navigation menu
icon
?or your
profile
icon. Tap whichever icon you have.
- Select
Settings and privacy
.
- Tap
Privacy and safety
.
- Under
Direct Messages
, and next to
Receive messages from anyone
, check the box to allow anyone to send you Direct Messages.
To change your settings using X for twitter.com:
- Click on the
More?
icon in the navigation bar.
- Select
Settings and privacy
.
- Tap
Privacy and safety
.
- Under
Direct Messages
, and next to
Receive messages from anyone
, check the box to allow anyone to send you Direct Messages.
Note:
Disabling the?
Receive messages from anyone
?setting will not prevent you from continuing to receive Direct Messages from someone you don't follow if you have a prior conversation already established with that person. You will need to either?
report
?the conversation or?
block
?the account to stop receiving Direct Messages from that person.
To review Direct Message requests
If you have the
Receive messages from anyone
setting enabled, incoming messages from people you don’t follow will appear as
Requests
in the
Messages
tab. New group conversations that you’re added to by people you don’t follow will also appear in
Requests
. Entering the conversation, you will be asked to either
Delete
or
Accept
the message. Accepting the message will allow you to engage with the person, and will move the message to your inbox. Please note that they will not know you have seen the message until you have accepted their request.
Deleting the message will remove it from your inbox.
Note
: Deleting a message will not prevent that account from sending you messages in the future. You will always have the option to block the account or report the conversation. Blocked accounts cannot send you messages, unless you unblock them.
Accepting the message will allow you to engage with the person. All media will be hidden prior to accepting the message. If you wish to view the hidden media, click or tap
View media
.
Note:
The option to?
Accept
?or?
Delete
?messages and?
View Media
?from someone new that you don't follow is only available on the X for iOS and Android apps, and X.com.
Additionally, by default, we filter lower-quality requests from the
Requests
section of your inbox for the X for iOS and Android app. When enabled, the quality filter for message requests hides conversation requests we think may be lower quality.?You will not receive notifications for filtered requests, but these messages will still be viewable behind the low quality filter that exists at the bottom of the?
Requests
?section of your inbox.
To disable or enable the quality filter for message requests:
- At the top of your
Requests
tab, tap
Change settings
.?
- In the
Privacy
section of your
Message
settings
, toggle the slider next to
Quality filter
.
How to filter graphic media in Direct Messages
The filter is enabled by default and will work in this way:
- There will be a
displayed warning
over graphic media in DMs, for both people you follow and unknown senders. Additionally, if it’s from someone you don’t follow, we’ll also treat it like spam and move it to the bottom of your
Request
inbox.
- If turned off, and you receive a graphic message from someone you do follow, we will show the graphic media in the same manner as any other image, video, or GIF in the conversation you may receive. If it’s from someone you don’t follow, we’ll still display a warning because we do that with all media, but it won’t explicitly identify the media as potentially sensitive/graphic.
Note:
If you have the
Allow message requests from everyone
setting enabled under the
Direct Messages
section of your
Privacy and safety
settings, it is possible to disable and enable the quality filter from your privacy settings. This feature is only available currently on iOS and Android devices.
To disable Direct Message read receipts
Direct Messages feature read receipts so you know when people have seen your messages. When someone sends you a Direct Message and your
Show read receipts
setting is enabled, everyone in the conversation will know when you’ve seen it. This setting is enabled by default but you can turn it off (or back on) through your settings at any time. If you turn off the
Show read receipts
setting, you will not be able to see read receipts from other people.
Read receipts are only viewable on the X for iOS and Android apps, and X.com. Please note, however, that read receipts will also be sent when you view Direct Messages on mobile web.
To disable or enable using X for iOS:
- In the top menu, tap your
profile
icon.
- Select
Settings and privacy
.
- Tap
Privacy and safety.
- Under
Direct Messages
, and next to
Show read receipts
, drag the slider to turn the feature off or back on.?
To disable or enable using X for Android:
- In the top menu, you will either see a
navigation menu
icon
?or your
profile
icon. Tap whichever icon you have.
- Select
Settings and privacy
.
- Tap
Privacy and safety
.
- Under
Direct Messages
, and next to
Show read receipts
, uncheck the box to turn the feature off or check the box to turn back on.
To disable or enable via X.com:
- Click the
more?
?icon, then click
Privacy and safety
.
- Under
Privacy and safety
and next to
Show read receipts
, click the box to turn the feature off or click the box to turn back on.
Note:
For conversations that appear under?
Requests
, the sender(s) will not be able to see if you have read their Direct Messages unless you accept the conversation.
To send and receive Direct Messages on your phone via SMS
If your X account is connected to your mobile phone, you can send and receive Direct Messages via SMS.
Note:?
A note about Direct Message failures:
Please be careful to ensure that Direct Messages you send via SMS are under 160 characters, including the d command and username.
?Your service provider may split SMS messages greater than 160 characters into multiple SMS messages. In this case, the second and any subsequent SMS messages will post as public posts because they don’t begin with the appropriate text command (
d username
) that tells X they are Direct Messages, as the first SMS message did.
Some important things to know about Direct Messages
- When you delete a Direct Message or conversation (sent or received), it is deleted from your account only. Others in the conversation will still be able to see Direct Messages or conversations that you have deleted. When you delete a group conversation, you will leave that group and will no longer be able to participate.
- When you share a link in a Direct Message, it is automatically processed and shortened to a t.co link. Learn more about
link shortening
. Please note that anyone with a t.co shortened link will be able to navigate to the destination URL.
- When you share media in a Direct Message, it will be viewable by everyone in the conversation. Please note that recipients may download or re-share links to media that you share in a Direct Message. Anyone with the link to media shared in a Direct Message will be able to view the content.
Need more information?
Check out the most
frequently asked questions
about Direct Messages.