In another controversial change, Twitter will restrict the number of direct messages that unverified users can send over the platform.
The company began instituting the change on Friday, tweeting: “Unverified accounts will have daily limits on the number of DMs they can send.”
Twitter didn't specify what the daily limit is, but in a support document, the company says it's imposing the restriction to help the bird site cut down on spam.
Still, setting a cap on direct messages also looks like an attempt to push users into paying for Twitter Blue, which starts at $8 per month and offers several premium features, including the verified blue checkmark. Last week, Twitter’s owner Elon Musk conceded the company continues to bleed cash due to advertising revenue dropping by 50%.
In no surprise, some users are already blasting Twitter for imposing restrictions on direct messages. That’s because it looks like verified users paying for Twitter Blue can still send as many DMs as they want—whether it be legitimate messages or spam.
Meanwhile, others are welcoming the change, citing the constant junk messages they receive on Twitter. Nevertheless, the restrictions may undermine Musk’s own efforts to turn Twitter into a super app capable of rivaling WhatsApp and Zoom for online chatting and video calls.
Last week, the company also quietly added a DM “quality filter” for Twitter Blue members, meaning messages from people they follow show up in the primary inbox as normal, while messages from Verified users they don’t follow go to a message request inbox. The company automatically migrated users to the new setting if they had set their permissions to allow anyone to DM them.