There is now a hidden message inbox on Twitter, and here’s how it works
Remember that moment when you discovered that Facebook has a vault of hidden messages in your inbox? And the moment when that also happened with Instagram messages? You may or may not have found loads of unseen messages. Either way, it was a feature you didn’t know existed until you…well, knew it existed. Déjà vu — because another one of those moments is about to happen again, only this time with Twitter.
Yep, Twitter now has a hidden message inbox where messages from people you don’t follow go.
If you’ve opted-in to get Direct Messages from anyone, messages from people you don’t follow will go into requests. https://t.co/n1qasb7JZC pic.twitter.com/HQY20T5f6t
— Twitter (@Twitter) May 30, 2017
According to Twitter support, if you have the “receive messages from anyone” setting enabled, messages sent from people you don’t follow will appear as requests in the message tab. If people you don’t follow add you to a new group conversation, that’ll also show up in the requests section.
Here’s how it works: When you look at the conversation request, you’ll be asked to either delete or accept the message. Obviously if you delete it, it’ll go away forever (but that person can continue sending you requests unless you block the account or report the conversation). If you accept it, you’ll be able to engage with the person.
Don’t worry though, you can be sneaky about it. No one will know you’ve seen the message until you accept the request.
So it’s basically the same hidden message situation as Facebook and Instagram — meaning you have to work a little harder to find messages from strangers.
Twitter now has an Other inbox for Direct Messages, just like Facebook https://t.co/Trj8Xe0kUT pic.twitter.com/AgrYorK8s8
— The Verge (@verge) May 30, 2017
There’s one more feature worth noting: Before you accept any messages, all media will be hidden. So if someone sends you something gross or offensive, you won’t see it unless you choose to. But if you’re curious, but don’t want to commit to accepting the message, you can still view the hidden media by clicking “view media.”
So there you have it. Another day, another hidden message inbox discovery.
