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Recently, Twitter announced a new setting that changed the default DM (direct message) option for all accounts. The default option allowed users to receive messages from users they follow and verified accounts they do not follow while restricting any other unverified account from sending messages. Twitter explained the move was taken to reduce spam on the platform. The move received some flak from users who preferred having an open DM to receive message requests from all users. But now, the microblogging platform has taken things further by announcing that soon, unverified accounts will see a daily limit to the number of DMs they can send. Many users have voiced their frustration over this new move which is believed to be an underhanded move to boost Twitter Blue subscriptions.
In the early hours of July 22, the official account for Twitter Support tweeted, “We’ll soon be implementing some changes in our effort to reduce spam in Direct Messages. Unverified accounts will have daily limits on the number of DMs they can send”. The tweet also added a link to Twitter Blue and added that users can become verified subscribers on the platform to “send more messages”. The company has not revealed the exact number of DMs an unverified account will be able to send on a daily basis.
The ‘pay-to-play’ move has added another barrier for free accounts in getting the social media experience that the Elon Musk-owned social media platform has to offer. Twitter is also one of the only major social media platforms that has a premium tier for what are considered basic quality-of-life features.
Twitter restricts DMs for unverified users
This means that in order to have the ability to send an unrestricted number of DMs to other accounts, users will now have to pay $8 a month. For users in India, the amount is Rs. 650 monthly or Rs. 6,800 a year. This puts Twitter Blue subscription on par with Netflix’s most expensive subscription plan, which is also India’s most expensive streaming platform.
In a separate tweet, Twitter Support explained the reason why changes to DMs were being made lately. It stated, “Last week we gave users the option to limit their Direct Message inbox to only verified users and people they follow. And now we’re seeing a 70% reduction in spam in Direct Messages compared to last week. This work is ongoing, and we’ll continue to make changes to fight spam to make Twitter better for everyone”.
Users frustrated over the daily limit on DMs
The move has not gone well over users, both verified and unverified, as many believe this monetization attempt takes away from the basic access to the platform a user should have.
Bloomberg’s correspondent Mark Gurman, who has a verified account on Twitter, tweeted, “Yet another bullet point to sign up for Twitter Blue being disguised as an effort to reduce spam/bad actors. There’s nothing wrong with Twitter trying to make its subscription more valuable, but there’s no reason to continue being disingenuous. (Also: DMs shouldn’t require $)”.
Another verified account said, “Changes like this is why other apps will start to compete, don’t limit your users on the basic stuff, this is not what Twitter is about. The point of paying for Twitter blue is so we have additional features not to take away a common, free feature and put a paywall behind it”.
One user gave a hilarious analogy to describe Twitter’s current solution to fight spam bots. He said, “In an effort to reduce spam calls your phone will no longer be able to receive calls”.
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