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Twitter considering dedicated private messaging app
The blue bird's been awfully busy since its IPO hit the books, and now it's reportedly considering a standalone messaging app. According to AllThingsD, sources close to Twitter say the company could be considering taking its direct messaging service a step further and spinning it off as its own app. The article goes on to say that Twitter has been keeping a close eye on now-you-see-it-now-you-don't messaging app Snapchat, running a survey to assess its impact, and has even met privately with employees from MessageMe. MessageMe notably reached 5 million users within 75 days of its launch. The news of a possible Twitter-backed messaging app comes just days after changes to its direct messaging service that allow users to reach out to others without having to follow them first.
Sending links inside Twitter direct messages doesn't work if you're unverified (update: a 'technical issue with URLs')
Some Twitter users can no longer send links through the social network's direct message service. According to our early tests, unverified users are the ones seeing the issue, with unverified-to-verified and unverified-to-unverified DMs both affected. Meanwhile, those that are more fair than the others are free to send links privately to whoever they want. We've replicated the issue with several editors, and we've had no trouble sending page links (and, importantly, gifs) on DM to other (verified and unverified) Twitter users. This was across the web browser client, TweetDeck and the iOS app. According to ReadWrite, it was only able to send links to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with all other links bouncing back with an error message. The site reckons it could be a protective measure against spam, which could make sense, following the new ability to receive DMs from people you don't follow -- if you opt-in for it -- which launched this week. Then again, it could just be a bug -- we're receiving mixed reports from readers. Update: We've also got in touch with Twitter, whose spokesperson told us that there is a "technical issue with URLs in direct messages" and well, not much else. It sounds like it's something that's being worked on rather than a new optional measure, although the social network didn't offer a timeframe for when the ability will stabilize. Update 2: For more updates about where Twitter is with this issue, you can check out its direct message support page here. Right now it states: "We're restructuring back-end elements of our direct message system. As a result, users may be unable to send some URLs in direct messages. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Twitter will now let you opt-in to receive DMs from people you don't follow
If you're active on Twitter, you're familiar with the following scenario: someone you follow sends you a DM, but your efforts to reply are stymied by their stubborn insistence not to follow back (which we're sure is entirely their loss). But the old Twitter ways are changing; now, users can opt-in to receive messages from any ol' follower without the need to follow back. Holders of existing accounts will have to go into their settings to enable the feature, but new accounts will come with it already activated, so if you're thinking of signing up soon, bear in mind that opting out is on you. If you find yourself unable to access this new and exciting capability, then have patience, young padawan. Twitter is rolling out the feature gradually, so we'll all just have to wait our turns.
