‘Can’t DM’: What Twitter users should do if you can’t send direct messages

July 23, 2023 - 5:51 PM
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Twitter logo
People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2013. (Reuters/Kacper Pempe)

The phrase “Can’t DM,” gained traction on Twitter this week, with many users reporting that they cannot message fellow users.

“Hello, you might be interested with our services! Can’t dm you po, but kindly check us out here,” a printing service account quote-tweeted.

Twitter update

The direct message issue came after a Twitter update was rolled out last July 14.

Twitter said the newest feature in messaging improved security from spam bots.

“Starting as soon as July 14th, we’re adding a new messages setting that should help reduce the number of spam messages in DMs. With the new setting enabled, messages from users who you follow will arrive in your primary inbox, and messages from verified users who you don’t follow will be sent to your message request inbox,” the micro-blogging platform said.

Additionally, the new feature was automatically activated for users who were allowed to receive messages from any other Twitter user.

“Users who previously had their permissions set to allow message requests from everyone will be migrated to this new setting, but can switch back at any time,” Twitter added.

Twitter users reportedly said that they did not know that their settings were changed by the new feature, despite the Twitter post.

“I only found out it now,  there’s a setting for it.  I was not aware of this.. Now I know why others can’t dm me,” a Twitter user said.

Some Twitter users have found the fix for the issue already, but there are others who were still unaware of it.

Normal settings

Twitter users interested to revert their message settings to their previous state can simply do so by following these steps from Twitter’s help center:

To change the settings using Twitter 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 the settings using Twitter for Android:

On 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 the settings using Twitter 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.

These fixes for each platform should have Twitter users be able to revert their messaging settings to their preference.