Direct Messages

Direct messages let you have a private, one-to-one conversation with another person. They are separate from your posts: only you and the other person can ever see a direct message. This page covers who you can message, starting and continuing conversations, sending photos, and deleting or restoring messages.

Direct messages are free for everyone, including sending photos.

Who you can message

You can only message people you follow each other: you follow them and they follow you back (both follow requests approved). You also cannot message someone if either of you has blocked the other.

If you can't message someone yet, follow them and wait for them to follow you back. Once you both follow each other, they'll appear in your recipient list.

Opening your messages

1. Click Messages in the navigation (the envelope icon)
2. You'll see three tabs:
   • Inbox: Messages other people have sent you
   • Sent: Messages you've sent
   • Deleted: Messages you've removed from your Inbox or Sent

Unread messages in your Inbox show a small blue dot. A badge in the navigation shows how many unread messages you have.

Starting a conversation

There are two ways in.

From the Messages page:

1. On the Messages page, click New message
2. Choose a person from the To list (only people who follow you back appear here)
3. Type your message; you can use Markdown for formatting, up to 10,000 characters
4. Click Send

You'll be taken straight to the conversation, where you can keep chatting.

If the list is empty, it means no one who follows you also follows you back yet.

From someone's profile:

Visit their profile at /user/[username]. If the two of you follow each other, a Message button appears next to Follow, and it opens your conversation with them directly. If you don't see the button, you are not mutual followers yet (or one of you has blocked the other).

Replying and continuing a conversation

Open any conversation from your Inbox or Sent list to see the full back-and-forth, oldest messages at the top and newest at the bottom. Type in the box at the bottom and send to reply. Older messages load as you scroll up.

Opening a conversation automatically marks its messages as read.

Sending photos

You can attach photos to a direct message, up to 8 per message. Photos are resized automatically. You'll need a verified email address to send images (check Settings if you haven't verified yet).

Deleting and restoring messages

• Delete: Click the trash icon on a message to remove it from your Inbox or Sent view. This only affects your copy; the other person still has theirs.
• Restore: Open the Deleted tab and click the restore icon to bring a message back to your Inbox or Sent.

Deleting a message never marks it as unread and never touches the other person's copy. A message that both people have deleted is eventually removed for good.

Privacy

Direct messages are private to the two people in the conversation. The other person can never tell whether you've deleted your own copy of a message.

Related

• People: Follow others so you can message each other
• Blocking, Muting & Reporting: Block someone to stop direct messages
• Messages: Public posts, replies, and threads
• Direct Messages API: Send and read direct messages programmatically