Direct Messaging (DM) has long been a feature of the microblogging service Twitter, Inc., but the downside of this capability is that, unless you are following the person or you are one of the select few who can receive DMs from anyone, you can’t have a private conversation and must resort to conversing through your timeline.

Twitter has finally changed this, announcing that you can now receive DMs from anyone after you turn on a new feature. There are concerns that opening up the DM would make Twitter users vulnerable to spam. And it should be noted that the feature is not automatically turned on; thus, opting in is necessary.

This feature may be useful for brands and businesses, as well as journalists, but may not be something for everyone. Still, if you’re interested in trying out the open DM, check out our quick tutorial below:

First, you need to be logged into your Twitter account.

To go to settings, click on your photo found at the right top side.

A dropdown menu will then appear where you will see “Settings.” Click on that.

You will then be directed to the Settings page where you will see a panel on the left side, below your profile photo. Click on the “Security and Privacy” tab.

Scroll down to the bottom of the Privacy section to see the option for Direct Messages. You will see an unchecked tickbox; ticking it will opt you in to receiving messaging from anyone.

Click on the “Save changes” button.

You will then be asked to re-enter your password to finalize the changes.

photo credit: mkhmarketing via photopin cc