Twitter users can freely type up direct messages now as the micro-blogging site just dropped the 140-character limit for private conversations. The limit still remains in effect for standard public messages. The website’s product manager, Sachin Agarwal, believes the change will make sending private messages more personal and fun.
Twitter wants to encourage users to send direct messages
In a recent blog post, Agarwal explained that Twitter is primarily a public and social experience, but direct messages enable users to share thoughts on news stories and events privately with other users. The change is one of the many changes Twitter has made to improve the direct message experience in the last few months. The list of previous changes includes a setting that allows users to receive direct messages from other users not on their followers list and an updated DM button for profile pages on iOS and Android.
Twitter’s changes take effect
The new changes went into effect on Wednesday with updates on Twitter’s website, iOS app, Android app, TweetDeck, and Twitter for Mac. In the next few weeks, we can expect the update to roll out globally. Mobile users who want to start using the new feature right away will have to make sure they have the latest version of the Twitter app on their phone. It should be noted that sending and receiving DMs via SMS messages is still limited.
Twitter originally announced plans to remove the character limits on DMs earlier this summer in an effort to appeal to investors. Twitter remains strong with 316 million monthly active users, but that number is nothing compared to the 1.5 billion monthly active users on Facebook. Twitter also wants to make the website easier to use. Its top executives previously admitted the company is struggling to make its website more engaging and user-friendly.
