How to enable and disable direct messaging on Twitter

If you’re reading this, you either need to stop someone from sending you a DM (short for ‘Direct Messages’) or you want to be able to receive DMs. Enabling direct messages could open you up to kindly and genial people while disabling them protects you from mean and devious ones.

Users on Twitter are handed control over the business in and around their DMs. This article will guide you on how to establish the control you need to know who –  as they say – slides in your DM and who doesn’t.

Enabling DMs on Twitter

Twitter only allows a DM to get to a user’s inbox if the receiver follows the sender back. When it is not the case, the receiver gets a message request. The following could be reasons why you would like to enable any user to send you DMs:

1. The user is not following you.
2. You had blocked the user.

If the user is not following you, here are the steps to enable you to receive their DMs:

1. For iOS, macOS, and Android users, tap on the profile photo icon. For Twitter.com users on Windows, use the more icon.
2. From the displayed menu, choose Settings and Privacy.
3. Tap the Privacy and safety button then Direct Messages.
4. For Twitter.com users (macOS and Windows), check the Receive message request’ box. For iOS and Android users, there is a slider button instead.

Now, whenever someone wants to message you and does not follow you, you will receive a message request. If you accept it, you will see their DMs. Further DMs between you and the sender (or senders if it is a group chat) will appear in your inbox without you being prompted to accept a message request.

If you had blocked the user, you just need to unblock them using the following steps:

1. Tap on your profile photo icon.
2. From the displayed menu, choose Settings and Privacy.
3. Under Safety, tap on Blocked accounts. If you have them, a list of the people you have blocked will be displayed. Pick the blocked account that you want to receive DMs from.
4. When their page displays, tap the red Blocked button and say yes to unblock. Now, they can send you a DM. However, their DM will come as a message request first since you are not following them.

Disabling DMs on Twitter

What are some of the reasons you would have for wanting to stop someone from sending you DMs? It could be that the sender is just spamming your inbox or that they are sending inappropriate messages. Maybe, it could just be that you don’t want to be messaged at all. Whatever the reason is, the best solution is to either report them or block them.

Blocking or reporting DMs is the same across all Twitter platforms. Here’s how you can block or report a no-good Twitter user:

1. While you are in Messages, click on the inbox whose user you want to block or report.
2. On the top right section of the inbox, click the blue info button. The Conversation info menu will appear.
3. Below Mute conversation, there are two options – block and report.
4. If you desire to block the user, click Block. Before you click Yes, you will be notified that the user will no longer be able to follow or message you.
5. If you desire to report the user, Twitter will need you to help them understand the issue. You will tell them whether the content is spam and abusive or harmful by clicking either of the available options.