Days before the second anniversary of Meta launching Threads, the social media platform has finally added DMs. On Tuesday, Meta took to its blog to announce that the long-awaited feature is available in the Threads app. Starting today, Threads users can send direct messages to one another, matching similar features on X and Bluesky.
Threads finally adds DMs
“Threads was created for sharing perspectives that generate vibrant, public conversations, but sometimes you want to take a conversation further, one-on-one,” said Meta’s team. “Messaging has been one of the top requested features, and now, you can easily continue conversations in the app and deepen relationships with others.”
Privacy and security are always primary concerns when it comes to digital communication. To protect its users, Threads only allows DMs between Threads followers or mutual followers from Instagram who are 18 and older. Meta also notes that the messaging is protected by its privacy standards, account protections, and safety infrastructure.
In the future, Threads plans to add in features such as message controls to allow you to decide who can send you messages, group messaging with multiple users, and inbox filters to make it easier to find a specific message from another user.
How to send DMs on Threads
When you next open the Threads app on iOS or Android, you’ll spot a new envelope icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. That is where your DMs will live from now on, and you’ll see a red dot below the icon if you have any unread messages.
In order to send a DM on Threads, just follow these steps:
- Tap on the envelope icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the Threads app.
- Tap the pencil icon in the top-right corner to start drafting your message.
- Type in the username of the recipient, write your message, and hit the send button.
Easy peasy! This has long been the most glaring missing feature on Threads, and yet the Meta app has remained the most popular rival to X (formerly Twitter). It is a barebones version of the feature for now, but more functionality is in the works.
