Users React to Twitter’s New Limit on Unverified Accounts’ Direct Messages
Twitter recently made an announcement regarding a new setting that altered the default option for direct messages (DMs) on all accounts. The previous default setting allowed users to receive messages from those they follow and verified accounts they don’t follow, while preventing unverified accounts from sending messages. Twitter’s intention behind this change was to combat spam on the platform. However, some users expressed their dissatisfaction with this modification as they preferred having an open DM to receive message requests from all users. Now, Twitter has taken it a step further by revealing that unverified accounts will soon have a daily limit on the number of DMs they can send. This latest move has sparked frustration among many users, who believe it is a sneaky tactic to promote Twitter Blue subscriptions.
On the morning of July 22nd, the official Twitter support account tweeted: “We will soon be implementing some changes in our efforts to reduce spam in direct messages. Unverified accounts 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 disclosed the exact number of DMs an unverified account can send per day. .
The “pay-to-play” move has added another hurdle for free accounts to get the social media experience offered by the social media platform owned by Elon Musk. Twitter is also one of the only major social media platforms with a premium level for basic quality of life features.
Twitter restricts DMs to unverified users
This means users will now have to pay $8 per month to send unlimited DMs to other accounts. For users in India, the amount is Rs. 650 per month or Rs. 6800 per year. This puts the Twitter Blue subscription on par with Netflix’s most expensive subscription plan, which is also the most expensive streaming platform in India.
In a separate tweet, Twitter support explained the reason behind the recent changes to DM. It said: “Last week we enabled users to limit direct messages to only verified users and people they follow. And now we’re seeing a 70% drop in spam in direct messages compared to last week. This work continues, and we’re continuing to make changes to combat spam to make Twitter better for everyone.”
Users are frustrated with the daily limit of DMs
The move has not gone down well with users, both verified and unverified, as many believe that this attempt at monetization takes away the basic access to the platform that a user should have.
Bloomberg correspondent Mark Gurman, who has a verified account on Twitter, tweeted: “Another point to sign up for Twitter Blue disguised as an attempt to reduce spam/bad actors. Nothing wrong with Twitter trying to make their subscription more valuable, but no reason to continue being dishonest. (Also: DMs can’t demand $)”.
Another verified account said: “Changes like this are causing other apps to compete, don’t limit your users to the basics, that’s not what Twitter is about. The point of paying for Twitter blue is so we have extra features so we don’t remove a common, free feature and put a paywall behind it.”
One user came up with a funny analogy to describe Twitter’s current solution to combating spambots. He said, “Your phone can no longer receive calls to reduce spam calls.”
