Twitter now allows its users to receive direct messages (DM) from any of their followers, eliminating the need for a follow-back in order to receive a DM.
The option to receive direct messages from followers has to be enabled via the account settings, and is being rolled out gradually to all users. The option was first
spotted by @JimConnolly (via
Pocket Lint).
Users just need to go to their settings from the Twitter web interface, and check on the 'Receive direct messages from any follower' box to enable the feature. "Generally, you must follow someone before they have the ability to direct message you. If you check this option, any Twitter user that follows you will be able to send you a DM, regardless of whether you decide to follow them back," says Twitter, describing the feature.
Previously, while users could send direct messages to followers, it was not possible to receive these messages from them. With the new feature, Twitter accounts of service providers and brands would be able to communicate with their users/ target audience privately without the need for the latter to follow them back. However, this could also be a potential way to spam users with unsolicited promotional messages, which means you might need to block more accounts than you usually do.
Twitter
had improved direct messages sync on its official clients across different platforms including Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, twitter.com, mobile.twitter.com and TweetDeck so that when users read a Direct Message (DM) on their Android phone or iPhone, it was marked as read in their browser (Twitter.com),on desktop apps, or their tablets, and vice versa.
The social networking service had
recently started rolling out a new notifications feature that recommends interesting accounts and tweets to users, on the basis of the usage pattern of people in their network.
Previously,
Twitter had updated its iPhone and Android apps, as well as the Web interface to allow users to easily discover and follow conversations. The update made conversations an integral part of the users' timeline.