How to DM on Twitter (X): The Complete 2026 Guide

To DM on Twitter (X): open the Messages tab (the envelope icon), tap the new message icon, type the person's @username, write your message, and hit send. If you cannot message someone, it is almost always because they only accept DMs from people they follow.

That is the 10-second version. This guide is the complete one: exact steps on web and mobile, opening your own DMs, group messages, the settings that control everything, why DMs fail, and how to message strangers without getting your account flagged. This is the definitive parent guide; for a shorter walkthrough of just the send flow, see our quick post on how to message someone on Twitter.

How to send a DM on X (web)

1. Log into x.com and click Messages (envelope icon) in the left sidebar.
2. Click the new message icon at the top of the Messages pane.
3. Type the person's name or @username in the To field and select them from the results.
4. Click Next, write your message in the text box, and press Send.

Shortcut: on any profile with open DMs, a small envelope icon sits next to the Follow button. Click it and you jump straight into a conversation.

[SCREENSHOT: X web Messages pane with the new message compose window open, To field highlighted]

How to send a DM on mobile (iOS and Android)

1. Open the X app and tap the envelope icon in the bottom navigation bar.
2. Tap the new message icon (bottom right on Android, top right on iOS).
3. Search the @username and tap the right account.
4. Tap Next, type your message, and hit Send.

Inside any conversation you can also send photos, videos, GIFs, and voice notes using the icons next to the text box. Sent the wrong thing? Long-press your message: X lets you edit a sent DM up to five times (an "Edited" label appears) or delete it from your side.

[SCREENSHOT: X mobile app conversation view showing the long-press menu with Edit message option]

Who can you actually DM?

This is where most confusion lives. You can always DM:

• People who follow you. Mutual follows can always message each other.
• People with open DMs. Anyone who enabled messages from everyone can be messaged by anyone.

If neither applies, the compose box simply will not appear on their profile. X has also tied broader messaging to its paid tiers over the past two years: unverified accounts face tighter caps on messaging non-followers, and some open-inbox messaging requires a Premium subscription. If you rely on DMs for work, Premium removes most of that friction.

How to open your DMs (so anyone can message you)

If you want inbound DMs (and if you are doing any kind of business on X, you do), open your inbox:

1. Go to Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Direct Messages.
2. Under Allow message requests from, select Everyone.
3. Optionally leave Filter low-quality messages on, which routes likely spam into a separate hidden requests tab.

Messages from people you do not follow land in Message requests, a folder at the top of your inbox. Open a request and you can Accept (moves to your main inbox) or Delete it. The sender cannot see whether you have read a request until you accept.

Two other settings in that menu worth a decision:

• Read receipts. Off means nobody sees when you have read their message, but you also lose seeing theirs.
• Encrypted messages. Premium accounts can start encrypted threads with other eligible accounts for sensitive conversations.

How to start a group DM

1. Open Messages and tap the new message icon.
2. In the To field, add multiple usernames instead of one.
3. Write your message and send. Everyone lands in one shared conversation.

Tap the conversation's info icon to name the group, mute it, or add and remove people. Group DMs are underrated for deals and collabs: one thread with a prospect and their cofounder moves faster than two parallel conversations.

Sharing posts, media, and voice notes in DMs

DMs carry more than text, and the share sheet is the feature most people underuse:

• Share a post privately. Tap the share icon under any post and choose Send via Direct Message. Pick a recipient, add a comment, and send. This is how most deals actually start on X: someone shares a post with "this is what I meant" instead of explaining from scratch.
• Photos, videos, and GIFs attach from the icons next to the message box. One video per message, and recipients can view media without leaving the thread.
• Voice notes (mobile only) record from the audio icon. Good for nuance, but ask before sending long ones; plenty of people never play them.
• Links unfurl with a preview card. One caution for anyone doing outreach: a bare link with no context in a first message is the single most spam-looking thing you can send, and X's filters treat it that way too.

DM limits and account safety

X enforces daily DM caps to slow down spammers. The exact numbers are not published, they change, and they vary by account: new accounts and unverified accounts get much tighter limits than aged, verified ones. Hit the ceiling and X blocks further messages for the day; keep slamming into it and the account can get temporarily restricted from DMs entirely.

The safety rules that follow from this are simple. Warm new accounts up slowly instead of sending at full speed on day one. Spread messages across the day rather than firing in bursts. Watch your reply rate, because a pile of ignored messages plus spam reports is the signal that gets accounts flagged. Verification meaningfully raises your ceiling, so if DMs are part of your work, Premium pays for itself.

Why your DM won't send (quick diagnosis)

When a message fails or the option is missing, run down this list:

1. Their settings. They only accept DMs from people they follow. No compose box on the profile = this.
2. You are blocked. X will not tell you, but messages will never go through.
3. Rate limits. Sending many DMs in a short window trips X's anti-spam limits, especially on new or unverified accounts. Wait, slow down, and warm the account up.
4. Account flags. Recent suspicious activity (mass following, spammy links) can temporarily restrict messaging.
5. The boring stuff. Bad connection, outdated app, or an X outage.

We wrote a full troubleshooting guide for the exact error: why your message could not be sent on Twitter.

DM etiquette: how to cold DM without being spam

Cold DMs work on X. Founders sell, agencies book clients, and recruiters hire through them every day. The line between outreach and spam is targeting and effort:

• Have a reason. Message people who follow relevant accounts, replied to a relevant post, or asked about a problem you solve. "Saw your thread on onboarding" beats any template.
• Personalize the first line. Their name, their work, something specific. If your opener could be sent to 500 people, it reads like it was.
• Keep it short. Two to four sentences. One question or one clear ask, not a pitch deck.
• Do not blast. Identical copy to hundreds of accounts in a day is the fastest route to a flagged account and dead inbox placement.
• Follow up once or twice, then stop. Silence after two follow-ups is an answer. Anyone who replies should never get another automated touch.

Doing DM outreach at scale

Manual DMs stop scaling around the point where you are prospecting daily. The failure mode is predictable: you either burn hours copy-pasting, or you blast too fast and X restricts the account.

This is the problem XAutoDM was built for. It keeps outreach inside safe daily limits with warm-up pacing per account, personalizes each message with merge variables like name and bio, sends follow-up sequences that stop automatically the moment someone replies, and tracks every conversation through a reply inbox to a booked call. You build the lead list from a profile's followers or a keyword search (see our follower scraper), launch the campaign, and watch replies instead of sending by hand.

If you are sending cold DMs for real business outcomes, start with the free plan, one account, no card required. The docs walk through your first campaign in about ten minutes.

FAQ

How do I DM someone on Twitter (X)?

Open the Messages tab (envelope icon), tap the new message icon, search the person's @username, select them, type your message, and hit send. You can also tap the envelope icon directly on someone's profile if their DMs are open to you.

Why can't I DM someone on Twitter?

Usually because they don't follow you and haven't enabled messages from everyone. Other causes: they blocked you, your account is rate-limited or flagged, a network issue, or your own DM settings. If the compose box is missing entirely, their settings are the reason.

How do I open my DMs to everyone on X?

Go to Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Direct Messages, then set who can message you to Everyone. Messages from people you don't follow land in your Message requests folder, and X filters low-quality ones into a hidden requests tab.

How do I start a group DM on Twitter?

Open Messages, tap the new message icon, and add multiple usernames in the To field before writing your message. Everyone you add joins one shared conversation. You can name the group and add or remove people from the conversation settings.

Is it OK to cold DM people on Twitter?

Yes, cold DMs are normal on X for business, hiring, and networking, as long as they're targeted and personal. Message people with a real reason, reference something specific, keep it short, and never blast identical copy at hundreds of strangers, which is how accounts get flagged.