Twitter has recently announced a new rule that restricts the number of direct messages (DMs) unverified accounts can send per day. The change is aimed at combating the increasing issue of spam in direct messages. This move comes after the platform introduced a message setting on July 14th, which directed DMs from accounts followed by users to their primary inbox and DMs from verified users they don’t follow to their message request inbox. This previous setting resulted in a significant 70 percent reduction in spam messages within a week of its implementation.
However, the new upcoming limit on DMs for unverified accounts is seen as another effort by Twitter to incentivize users to subscribe to its Blue membership. Prior to this change, the platform had already limited the ability to send DMs to people who don’t follow an account to Blue subscribers only.
While Twitter asserts that the motive behind this restriction is to reduce DM spam, critics argue that it subtly encourages unverified subscribers to opt for the Blue membership. The announcement about the upcoming change even explicitly urges users to “subscribe today to send more messages” and provides a link to the subscription page. Additionally, Twitter had previously imposed a strict cap on the number of tweets unverified accounts can see daily, limiting them to 600 posts.
The company’s push for subscriptions may be driven, in part, by its ongoing negative cash flow due to a significant drop in advertising revenue, as acknowledged by a recent tweet from Elon Musk. Though subscription revenue may not fully compensate for the loss, it still represents an additional source of income for Twitter.
The implementation of these new limitations and features indicates the platform’s focus on generating revenue through subscriptions while also addressing issues such as spam and the overall user experience. However, it remains to be seen how users will respond to these changes and their impact on the platform’s future financial performance.
