Receiving unwanted direct messages on Twitter can be a nuisance. Concerns about privacy on social media have increased in recent years as users receive messages from people and companies they do not interact with. While you may still enjoy sharing Tweets privately, you may still receive unwanted content in your direct messages.
The private messaging feature on this popular social media platform has been around for a while. However, it has some shortcomings. While Twitter doesn’t allow you to completely disable direct messages, there are ways to limit who can text you.
Here are some solutions that can help you block direct messages on Twitter.
How to block direct messages on Twitter
Twitter’s privacy policy allows you to limit who can send you messages, regardless of your privacy settings. It doesn’t matter whether your tweets are protected or not: anyone can access your direct messages if you set your account that way. While this setting allows for broader participation within the Twitter community, it may cause you to receive unwanted direct messages.
However, there are ways to filter who can send you messages and avoid annoying messages in your inbox.
Configure privacy settings
Many users have complained about not being able to block messages from accounts they don’t follow. The simple solution to this problem is to opt out of these accounts, and Twitter’s privacy settings allow you to do so. Here’s how to stop random Twitter users from sending you messages.
- Go to the navigation menu.
- Select“Privacy and security settings.”Then select “Direct Messages.”
- Uncheck the “Allow message requests from anyone” option.
Another way to access these settings is directly from the Direct Messages p.
- Open the Direct Messages menu.
- Tap or click the “Settings” icon.
- Turn off “Allow message request from everyone.”
Once you deselect this option, you will no longer receive messages from accounts you don’t follow. Disabling this option also prevents others from adding you to group conversations without your permission.
However, disabling this option will not prevent you from receiving direct messages from users with whom you have had a previous conversation. These users will still be able to contact you even if you don’t follow them. You will need to block or report these accounts to prevent them from sending you further messages.
Block a user
This is the most common way to prevent someone from contacting you on Twitter. If you want to exclude a particular user who has been harassing you, you must block and report them. Using these options prevents even users who contacted you previously from doing so again.
Unfortunately, there is no way to batch block users who spam your direct messages. But if there are users who harass you or others in any way, there is a report option to inform Twitter support about this harassment. Once reported, Twitter will investigate the charges and give you feedback on whether to remove them from the network.
Here’s how to stop a particular user from sending you direct messages.
- Open the conversation for the account you want to block.
- Select the “Information” icon.
- Choose “Block @username.”
- Confirm your choice.
The user will be blocked from contacting you further. You can reverse your decision and unblock them at any time if you change your mind.
Report a user
Reporting a user also prevents them from contacting you further (unless you message them and start a new conversation). If you choose to report someone, the conversation will be removed from your direct messages.
Follow these steps to prevent an account from sending you messages directly using the report option.
- Find the conversation you want to report in your direct messages.
- Tap or click the “Information” icon.
- Select “Report @username”.
- Select the issue you are having with the account you want to report.
- Confirm the report.
Message request management
Turning off message requests is another quick way to avoid unwanted direct messages on Twitter. If you have set your privacy settings to “Receive messages from anyone,” messages from people you don’t follow will appear in “Requests.” They will only be able to send you messages if you accept the request and the message will be moved to your inbox. If you do not accept the request, the user will not know if you have seen the message.
Deleting the message request will remove the message from your inbox, but will not prevent the user from contacting you again. You will have to block or report the account to prevent them from contacting you permanently.
Secure your account
Privacy is gold on social media these days. Limiting who can send you direct messages on Twitter can prevent unwanted messages and protect your online presence. If you receive annoying messages, use any of the above-mentioned ways to block the accounts of people who are bothering you. However, if you are experiencing harassment in your direct messages, it is best to block and report these accounts on Twitter.
Which of these ways did you use to block unwanted direct messages on your Twitter account? Leave a comment below.
