Twitter to introduce daily limit on DMs for unverified accounts

Twitter says that users can subscribe to Twitter Blue to send more messages.

Twitter will soon implement daily limits on the number of direct messages (DM) unverified accounts can send on the platform, in the company's latest move to boost signups for its subscription service Twitter Blue.

The company, which announced this measure on July 22, however positioned it as a part of its efforts to "reduce spam in direct messages".

Twitter is yet to disclose specific information about the daily limits it plans to implement, although it mentions that users can subscribe to Twitter Blue to send more messages. Unverified accounts are those who have not signed up for Twitter Blue.

The move comes on heels of Twitter rolling out a direct message setting, after which messages from verified users whom the user doesn’t follow will be moved to a secondary "message request inbox".

Users who previously had opted in to receive direct messages from everyone were migrated to the new setting, which meant that people who don't pay for Twitter Blue can no longer message people who don't follow them.

The social media platform started testing this feature in June 2023, Moneycontrol reported. It introduced the feature on July 14. Twitter however noted that users can manually switch back to allowing direct messages from everyone.

On July 22, Twitter said this new measure has resulted in a "70% reduction in spam in Direct Messages compared to last week".

Imposing restrictions on users

Twitter owner Elon Musk recently imposed a "temporary" limit on the number of tweets users can read on a daily basis, that placed significant restrictions on people who have not signed up for Twitter Blue.

The company was also not letting users access tweets or comments on the web unless they were logged in to an account, a move that it appears to have eventually backtracked on July 5.

Twitter Blue is one of Twitter's key initiatives to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising and is crucial for its future revenue growth as Musk looks to turn around the fortunes of the debt-laden social media firm.

In recent months, Twitter has brought in several features that were previously available for free, under the Twitter Blue subscription.

They include accessing its dashboard application TweetDeck, being eligible for recommendation in the company's algorithmic 'For You' timeline, SMS-based two-factor authentication, the ability to vote in polls,and accessing among others. It has also limited new features such as encrypted direct messages to Blue subscribers.

The subscription service is available in India for a monthly fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices for individual user accounts.

Brands and organisations will have to sign up for a significantly pricier 'Verified for Organisations' programme, whose subscription starts at $1,000 per month. These accounts will receive a gold checkmark and a square avatar. In India, the service is priced at Rs 82,300 per month.

Organisations can also choose to affiliate an individual or entity associated with them for an additional $50 per month (Rs 4,120 per month) per affiliate account.