Twitter Now Lets You Receive Direct Messages From Anyone

Direct messages on Twitter have finally received a much-needed tweak that enables a user to get messages from anyone regardless if they follow one another. The company has announced that the new changes have been rolled out to users worldwide starting Monday.

The micro-blogging site explained that a user can receive direct messages from anyone only if the option of 'Receive Direct Messages from anyone' in the security and privacy settings on Twitter.com, or Android and iOS apps, has been checked.

Twitter notes that after enabling the option to receive direct messages from anyone, users can be added to a group conversation. In case a user has enabled to receive the direct messages from anyone and still wants to stop someone from sending direct messages, they can block the user.

"Direct Messages are the best way to take your public Twitter conversations private. Today, we're changing how direct messaging works so that it's even easier for you to communicate one-to-one or with a chosen group of people, anywhere in the world," Twitter said on its official blog.

Apart from receiving direct messages, Twitter has also made a couple of changes that include updated messaging rules, which enables a user to reply anyone who sends a direct message, and the addition of a new Direct Message button on profile pages on Android and iPhone apps.

Twitter further added, "We're rolling out these changes starting today to all users around the world. And we have lots more in the works to improve Direct Messages on Twitter, so that the private side of Twitter is just as fulfilling as the public side."

Until now, Twitter allowed sending direct messages to users who followed each other. The micro-blogging site earlier also allowed users to send a direct message to an account that followed them.

The new feature can come in handy for small businesses and celebrities who can now communicate with their users or fans directly without the need of connection.

Twitter earlier this month launched a revamped Twitter.com homepage that begun rolling out to users in the US, and is expected to be made available in other regions worldwide "over time".