How to DM on Twitter
Sending is trivial. Arriving is not: messages from strangers land in a second tab that most people have never opened.
Open the messages area, start a new conversation, type the account name, write the message and send. On a profile, the envelope button does the same thing when that account accepts messages.
Whether it arrives usefully depends on the recipient's settings. If they do not follow you and have not opened their inbox to everyone, your message goes to a separate requests tab.
That tab is where most unanswered messages are sitting, unread rather than refused.
The two-inbox design is the single most useful thing to understand about messaging on this platform.
By default, an account receives messages from people it follows. Everything else is routed to a message requests area, which does not generate the same notification and which many people genuinely do not know exists.
So the common experience — sending a polite, relevant message to someone who never replies — usually has nothing to do with the message. It was filed in a folder they open once a year, if ever.
There is a second filter on top of it. X applies quality filtering inside the requests area, so messages that look like outreach, contain links, or come from accounts with no history can be sorted out of even that view.
The practical conclusion for anyone using messages for work: the odds improve enormously if the person follows you, which is why the sequence that works is to interact publicly first, be followed, and only then send the message. Cold messaging on this platform is closer to posting into a void than to sending an email.
And for your own inbox, opening messages to everyone is a trade: more reach for you, and a requests tab that fills with spam.
Sending a message
The messages area has a new-message control. Type the handle, pick the account, write, send.
From a profile, the envelope icon opens a conversation if that account accepts messages from you. If the icon is absent, they do not.
Group conversations are created the same way by adding more than one account.
Media, links and voice messages are supported, with size limits, and links are the most likely thing to trip a filter on an unsolicited message.
Who can message you, and the requests tab
In privacy and safety, message settings decide whether anyone can send you a message or only people you follow.
With the restrictive default, messages from others go to requests. Accepting one moves the conversation to the main inbox permanently.
The quality filter sits inside requests and hides what it judges to be low quality. It can be switched off, which is worth doing if you are expecting a message from a stranger.
Subscribers have additional controls over who can reach them, which changes the behavior further.
Why your message is not delivered
The recipient restricts messages to people they follow, so it is sitting in requests.
They blocked you, in which case the conversation cannot be created at all.
Your account is new or has little history, which makes the quality filter more likely to hide the message.
Or the account is protected and has never interacted with you, which combines several of the above.
Read receipts and what the other side sees
Read receipts are on by default and can be switched off in message settings.
Turning them off is symmetrical: you stop sending them and stop seeing them from everybody else.
Typing indicators follow the same setting.
A message in a requests tab shows no read state, which is why a conversation that looks ignored may never have been opened.
Using messages without being spam
Interact publicly first. A reply, a quote or a useful comment is what makes a handle familiar enough to be opened.
Keep the first message short and say what you want. Long introductions read as templates.
Avoid links in the first message. They raise the chance of being filtered and they ask for trust that does not exist yet.
And do not send the same text to many accounts. Bulk messaging is the fastest way to a messaging restriction on your own account.
Questions people ask about messages on X
How do I send a DM on X?
From the messages area with the new-message control, or from a profile using the envelope icon when that account accepts messages.
Why can't I message someone?
They restrict messages to people they follow, they blocked you, or their account is protected and has no connection with yours.
Where do messages from strangers go?
To the message requests tab, which notifies differently and is rarely checked. A quality filter can hide messages even there.
Can I tell if my message was read?
Read receipts show it, unless either side has them switched off. Messages waiting in requests show no read state at all.
Should I open messages to everyone?
It makes you reachable and fills the requests tab with spam. For most accounts the default is the better trade.
Is there a limit on how many messages I can send?
Yes, and sending many similar messages to accounts that do not follow you is the quickest route to a messaging restriction.
Keep reading
- followers on an X account — A message from an account with history gets opened and one from an empty profile does not, and followers on an X account acts on the first thing a recipient checks.
- whether your account is restricted — Messaging limits are one of the quieter penalties, and whether your account is restricted covers how to tell.
- building the audience first — Being followed is what moves a message out of the requests tab, and building the audience first is the slower half of the job.