How to DM on Twitter (X): Messages, Chat and Requests
To DM on Twitter (X), open your messages (the envelope icon in the X app, or Messages in the left menu on x.com), start a new message, type the person’s name or @username and send. Anyone who follows you can receive your DMs; people who don’t follow you can only if their settings allow it.
X now calls its messaging Chat, so your app may say Chat where older guides say Messages. Below is how to DM on Twitter in X’s current terms: its own steps and settings, the encrypted Chat with its 4-digit PIN, and the two daily limits X sets. Just need the abbreviation explained? See what DM means. For the rest of the rename, start with Twitter is now X.
Table of Contents
- How to DM on Twitter (X), step by step
- Can you DM someone on X who doesn’t follow you?
- How do message requests and daily limits work?
- How do you change who can DM you on X?
- What is X Chat, and is it encrypted?
- Why can’t I DM someone on X?
- FAQ
How to DM on Twitter (X), step by step
Open your inbox, tap or click the new-message icon, add one or more people by name or @username, then write and send. X publishes separate steps for the iPhone app, the Android app and x.com, and a group message can include up to 256 people.
In the X app on iPhone:
- Tap the envelope icon. You'll be directed to your messages.
- Tap the message icon to create a new message.
- In the address box, enter the name(s) or @username(s) of the people you wish to send a message to. A group message can include up to 256 people.
- Enter your message.
- To send your message, tap the paper airplane icon.
In the X app on Android:
- Tap the envelope icon. You'll be directed to your messages.
- Tap the message icon to create a new message.
- In the address box, enter the name(s) or @username(s) of the people you wish to send a message to. A group message can include up to 256 people.
- Enter your message.
- Tap the send icon.
On x.com (computer):
- Click Messages in the left navigation bar.
- You'll see your Direct Message history. Click the New message icon at the top.
- In the address box, enter the name(s) or @username(s) of the people you wish to send a message to. A group message can include up to 256 people.
- Click Next.
- Click the Send button or press the enter key to send.
Checked against X Help Center: About Direct Messages.Archived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy.
You can also attach a photo, video or GIF. Deleting a message removes it from your account only, so others in the conversation still see it; Chat’s unsend option, below, is the exception.
Type the @username if you can: usernames are unique, display names aren’t. Checked against X Help Center: How to change your X usernameArchived copy, 4 July 2026 View the archived copy Need to update your own first? Here’s how to change your username on X.
Can you DM someone on X who doesn’t follow you?
Only if their settings let you in. You can message anyone who follows you. Someone who doesn’t follow you can receive your message only if they accept messages from everyone, accept messages from Verified users and you’re Verified, or have messaged you before. Otherwise, X won’t let the message through.
| Your situation | Can you message them? |
|---|---|
| They follow you | Yes |
| They don’t follow you, but accept messages from everyone | Yes, and it lands in their Requests |
| They don’t follow you, but accept messages from Verified users, and you’re Verified | Yes, and it lands in their Requests |
| They don’t follow you, but have messaged you before | Yes |
| You’re in the same Premium Business or Premium Organization | Yes, without following each other |
| They’ve shared their X Number with you | Yes, in Chat |
| None of the above | No |
Checked against X Help Center: About Direct Messages.Archived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy.
X’s Direct Messages page adds that some accounts, particularly businesses, accept messages from anyone. The X Number row comes from X’s Chat page. Checked against X Help Center: About Chat
How do message requests and daily limits work?
A message from someone you don’t follow lands in Requests, where you accept or delete it, and the sender can’t tell you’ve seen it until you accept. X also caps the requests an account can send in 24 hours, from 7 on a free account to 500 on Premium Business, and separately limits messages to 500 a day.
Media in a request stays hidden until you accept. The X apps also tuck lower-quality requests behind a filter at the bottom of Requests, and X’s Chat page says Grok sorts requests into Priority and Hidden. Deleting a request doesn’t stop that account messaging you again; block or report it instead. Checked against X Help Center: About Direct MessagesArchived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy
| Account | Message requests you can send in 24 hours |
|---|---|
| Free | 7 |
| Premium | 35 |
| Premium Plus | 75 |
| Premium Business | 500 |
Checked against X Help Center: About Chat.
Upgrading is the only route X names for sending more requests. The second daily limit is separate and technical: X’s page about account limits caps Direct Messages sent at 500 a day. If you hit a limit, that page says, an error message names it, and you can try again once the period has passed. Checked against X Help Center: About X limitsArchived copy, 26 September 2026 View the archived copy
How do you change who can DM you on X?
In Settings and privacy, open Privacy and safety and find Direct Messages: that’s where you let anyone send you message requests and switch read receipts on or off. X calls the switch “Allow messages requests from everyone” on iPhone and “Receive messages from anyone” on Android and x.com.
In the X app on iPhone:
- Tap the navigation menu.
- Select Settings and privacy.
- Tap Privacy and safety.
- Under Direct Messages, and next to Allow messages requests from everyone, drag the slider to allow anyone to send you Direct Messages.
In the X app on Android:
- In the top menu, you will either see a navigation menu icon or your profile icon. Tap whichever icon you have.
- Select Settings and privacy.
- Tap Privacy and safety.
- Under Direct Messages, and next to Receive messages from anyone, check the box to allow anyone to send you Direct Messages.
On x.com (computer):
- Click on the More icon in the navigation bar.
- Select Settings and privacy.
- Tap Privacy and safety.
- Under Direct Messages, and next to Receive messages from anyone, check the box to allow anyone to send you Direct Messages.
Checked against X Help Center: About Direct Messages.Archived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy.
With it on, X’s Direct Messages page says, anyone can message you and add you to group conversations. Turning it off later doesn’t stop someone you already have a conversation with; block or report them instead.
Read receipts and editing a sent message
Read receipts are on by default, and turning off Show read receipts also hides other people’s from you. Checked against X Help Center: About Direct MessagesArchived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy You can edit a sent message up to 5 times, with no time limit; it shows “Edited” and keeps its original timestamp. Checked against X Help Center: About Direct MessagesArchived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy
What is X Chat, and is it encrypted?
Chat is X’s newer messaging, in the X apps, on the web and in a separate X Chat app. X says it encrypts message content, links, media and reactions end to end, with your key protected by a 4-digit PIN. Metadata, such as who you messaged and when, is not encrypted.
Checked against X Help Center: About Chat.
X’s About Chat page calls the older system “legacy DMs”. It says the PIN you’re asked for when you first open Chat never leaves your device, and that encrypted messages can be unsent from the recipient’s inbox. Checked against X Help Center: About ChatArchived copy, 15 September 2026 View the archived copy Know where the encryption stops:
- Anything you send to Grok from a chat is no longer encrypted, though the original conversation stays encrypted.
- Messages to someone who hasn’t registered for Chat go unencrypted; an unlock icon shows next to the send button.
- Message requests stay unencrypted until accepted, and X says its implementation is not “forward secure”: a compromised device key could expose that device’s messages. Checked against X Help Center: About ChatArchived copy, 15 September 2026 View the archived copy
- After 20 wrong PIN attempts, your encrypted history becomes permanently inaccessible.
Only existing X accounts can sign in to the X Chat app.
Your X Number
An X Number is an optional private code you can share so people can message or call you on Chat even if you don’t follow them or have a closed inbox. “Your X Number is not a phone number,” X notes; you can turn it off, refresh it or hide it.
On x.com or in the X app:
- Open Chat.
- Enter your Chat PIN if asked.
- Open the inbox dropdown menu.
- Tap on "Number".
Checked against X Help Center: About Chat.
Group chats and invite links
In Chat, you can create a public link to a group chat and share it in messages or on your Timeline; people who ask to join get in only if an admin approves them. Group chat names and custom avatars are unencrypted and public. Checked against X Help Center: About Chat X pointed Community members to these links in April 2026: see what X announced about Communities.
Why can’t I DM someone on X?
Most often, they don’t follow you and their settings don’t accept messages from you. The other documented reasons are a limit you’ve reached, a block, or an inbox they keep closed unless they share their X Number.
- Their messages are closed to you: they accept messages only from people they follow, or only from Verified users and you’re not Verified. Checked against X Help Center: About Direct MessagesArchived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy
- You’ve hit a limit: 7 message requests per 24 hours on a free account, or 500 messages a day on any account. X’s error message names the limit.
- They’ve blocked you: X’s Direct Messages page says “Blocked accounts cannot send you messages, unless you unblock them”. Checked against X Help Center: About Direct MessagesArchived copy, 6 September 2026 View the archived copy
- Their inbox is closed: they can still let you in by sharing their X Number.
Don’t automate or mass-send DMs
X’s automation rules ban unsolicited bulk or automated DMs, and duplicate or substantially similar posts on one account or several. Checked against X Help Center: Automation rulesArchived copy, 1 October 2026 View the archived copy They also ban non-API automation such as scripting the X website, which can lead to permanent suspension. Checked against X Help Center: Automation rulesArchived copy, 1 October 2026 View the archived copy Instead of cold messages, give people a reason to write: post in public when your audience is around (see the best time to post on X).
Plan your public X posts in Outfeed AI
FAQ
How do you DM someone on X (Twitter)?
Open your messages: the envelope icon in the X app, or Messages in the left navigation bar on x.com. Start a new message, enter the person’s name or @username, then write and send. A group message can include up to 256 people. X now calls its messaging Chat, so your app may say Chat instead.
Can you DM someone on X who doesn’t follow you?
Only if their settings allow it. You can message anyone who follows you. Someone who doesn’t can receive your message if they accept messages from everyone, if they accept messages from Verified users and you’re Verified, or if they’ve messaged you before. Messages from people they don’t follow land in their Requests.
How many DMs can you send per day on X?
X documents two limits. Its account limits page puts the daily limit at 500 Direct Messages sent. Separately, X’s Chat page caps message requests, which land in the Requests of people who don’t follow you, per 24 hours: 7 on a free account, 35 on Premium, 75 on Premium Plus and 500 on Premium Business, as listed on 3 October 2026.
Are X messages end-to-end encrypted?
Most messages in X’s newer Chat are. X says Chat encrypts message content, links, media and reactions end to end, with your key protected by a 4-digit PIN. Metadata such as the recipient and the time is not encrypted, message requests stay unencrypted until accepted, anything you share with Grok is no longer encrypted, and messages to someone who hasn’t registered for Chat go unencrypted.
Why can’t I DM someone on X?
Usually because they don’t follow you and accept messages only from people they follow, or only from Verified users when you aren’t Verified. You may also have hit a limit, such as the 7 message requests a free account can send in 24 hours, or they may have blocked you: X says blocked accounts cannot send messages unless unblocked.