Twitter Inc. has changed the way its direct messaging (DM) service works by introducing the ability to receive DM’s from anyone.

Previously users could only receive DM’s from people they were following, although as TechCrunch notes some users have previously had an exemption to this rule, in particular, brands, and some verified users.

With the change, which Twitter itself is dubbing as making it “easier than ever to have private conversations,” users are now presented with setting that allows them to receive DMs from anyone, within the privacy section of Twitter settings.

To support the changes to DM’s, updated messaging rules now allow users to reply to anyone who sends them a DM, regardless of whether or not that person follows the user.

A new DM button will now appear on profile pages on both Android and iOS, identifying users who are happy to accept DM from people they are not following.

Spam

The biggest risk of opening up Twitter accounts to direct messages from strangers is the obvious one: spam.

Do Twitter users, outside of business accounts and say journalists (it’s a great idea for talking to potential sources) really want an open door on Twitter that invites the spammers in, directly, versus the current setup where they simply spam people’s timelines? In context, any user of Twitter can vouch for the fact that the service already has a spam problem and this could potentially make it worse.

However, there is some solace in the announcement: users aren’t being defaulted into the new feature and instead have to manually opt into it, at least for now; when Twitter realizes virtually no one will opt in, that may change in future.

If you want to turn on the feature, go to settings>security & privacy, then scroll down the page, it’s at the very bottom. Naturally click on the box to turn on.