You can now check Twitter DMs right from your timeline

published 16 July 2020

Twitter’s on fire right now, as major verified accounts are being hacked in a massive Bitcoin scam, but that can’t stop the social media giant from releasing new updates. Twitter just announced that it’ll soon make accessing direct messages on the web more streamlined by putting a direct messaging tool right on your home timeline.

Like Facebook’s messaging system, Twitter’s DM tool will live on the lower-right corner of your screen and will blink when you get a message. You can then open it, reply and minimize it without leaving your timeline.

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There is no mention as to when this new feature will be available to everyone, but I verified that it’s not available on my personal Twitter page or on the ITPro Twitter page. Some replies to Twitter’s announcement show screenshots of the new DM system, indicating this may be a slow rollout.

While some users will find this feature useful, particularly those who do a lot of DMing, Twitter has gotten some flak from its users over this update. The common thread among users is they’ve been asking for an editing function for ages, but Twitter keeps stonewalling them and addressing less widespread needs.

Other users have complained that once the DM tab appears on the page, there’s no way to delete it.

Fueling the disgruntled Twitter users’ flame is the fact this update comes amid one of the social media platform’s biggest hacks.

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