TikTok has quietly expanded its direct message settings to give users a choice of who they want to receive messages from. The options are now: everyone, suggested friends, mutual followers, people you’ve messaged, or no one. Prior to this change, only people who identified users as friends or were recommended could DM each other on the platform. The change was first noticed by The information.
The companies website explains that if you choose the “Anyone” option, it means that anyone can send you a DM. Messages from mutual friends and people you follow appear in your inbox, and messages from people you don’t follow appear in Message Requests. You can choose to accept, delete or report these messages.
If you choose the “Suggested Friends” option, it means recommended friends, including synced Facebook friends and phone contacts, can send you a DM. The “Mutual Friends” option means that anyone who follows you and follows you can message you. If you select the “No one” option, you will not be able to receive direct messages from anyone. TikTok notes that you can still access your message history in your inbox, but you won’t be able to receive new direct messages in those chats.
To change your direct message settings, you need to tap the profile icon at the bottom of the TikTok home screen. Next, you need to tap on the menu button at the top and select ‘Settings and privacy’ and then tap on ‘Privacy’. From there you need to select “Direct Messages” and then you can choose who you want to allow to send you DMs.
The change marks the latest way TikTok is expanding social features on its platform in a bid to compete with Instagram. Last year, the company introduced a new Friends tab that replaced the Discover tab. TikTok’s decision to move away from the Discover tab indicated that it was looking for a new way to recommend content based on your actual friendships. Last September, TikTok launched a BeReal clone called TikTok Now that encourages users to post content at a certain time each day in exchange for viewing their friends’ posts.
TikTok has already established itself as a successful entertainment platform and is now likely looking to expand its social features to allow users to spend even more time on the app.
