Twitter will soon limit how many DMs you can send, unless you get Twitter Blue

Twitter has been a great place of networking for several professionals, from journalists to artists. However, soon, that could change as Elon Musk is set to roll out new rules on sending and receiving DMs (direct messages) on Twitter. 

Twitter will soon limit the number of DMs you will be able to send to someone who doesn't follow you back. So, to be able to send unlimited DMs, both the sender and receiver have to follow each other. 

Otherwise, you can cough up Rs 650 or Rs 900 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription to be able to DM accounts that don't follow you. 

Why?

• Elon Musk confirmed the news in a tweet saying that the update may be released as soon as this week. 
• His reasoning: To weed out the bots.

Hopefully releasing the update this week.

As I’ve said many times, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between AI bots. Soon, it will be impossible.

The only “social networks” that survive will be those that require verification. The payment system is a means of…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2023

• However, not everyone on Twitter is convinced about Musk's reasons. 
• Artists complained that they will not be able to directly connect with clients who are interested in their work. 

I can already tell artists are going to riot against this. Here's my take:

Bad side is, clients might just stop at the fact that they can't DM and not look for any other way to contact you. You MIGHT lose some client opportunities over this change until people get used to…

— Aerlya Graphics 🌿🎨 (@AerlyaGraphics) June 12, 2023

• And giving out their email IDs will only result in them being used for spam activities and fake subscriptions.

I had one email used for Target Circle that I had to call Target themselves to remove and cancel the credit card account made under my email for a scam. I had one of my old email names compromised from bad actors. I lost correspondence.

— ❰ l e x i ❱ (@lexiirah) June 12, 2023

• Journalists also complained that they will be unable to use Twitter DMs to reach out to various sources. 
• Twitter has been a powerful tool for several years aiding journalists to reach out to potential sources and connections privately.

This is horrible for journalists. It will eliminate the ability for us to reach out to sources easily and privately, and for them to reach us. This is a massively important feature of this platform for me and others about to vanish. pic.twitter.com/7FRPurNgWX

— Rebekah Valentine (@duckvalentine) June 12, 2023

• They also countered Musk's claims of using the paywall to weed out bots. 
• They said that so far Twitter Blue has been unable to deal with the bot problem on Twitter and has only managed to make them more powerful.
• They claimed that bot accounts on Twitter are already verified and subscribed to Twitter Blue, helping them get more visibility. 
• Now, with the DM privileges, many fear that Twitter Blue bot accounts will be able to spam non-Twitter Blue users. 

I think the craziest part to me is elno gloating that now "verification means bots are WAY more expensive" as if they didn't get verified en masse, soaring to the tops of every reply, fooling people more easily (and now they get DM perks because why wouldn't they)

— DarkoHexar (@DarkoHexar) June 12, 2023

• Others pointed out how there is already an option to keep spam and bots out of Twitter inboxes and Elon Musk's reasoning is unnecessary. 
• Some even quipped whether soon Musk will limit the time you can spend on Twitter for free and make subscription mandatory. 
• Research has shown that since Elon Musk's takeover, hate speech and bot activity and accounts have actually increased rather than decreased. 

[ALSO READ: Elon Musk can't see your DMs even if there's 'a gun on his head']

Remember the time when Elon Musk said he will defeat bots or die trying? It doesn't seem like he's winning the war at all, or he's even fighting the war in the first place. 

So far, Twitter has not specified what limit will be placed on non-subscribers using the DM feature. Reports say non-subscribers may only be allowed 10-20 DMs per week to non-followers. 

If I remember correctly from an article several months ago, the number of free DMs will be very minimal, like 10 to 20 per week

— 2020 WS Champs - 2023 season over-achievers (@roloH88) June 13, 2023

Elon Musk's idea to put the DM feature behind a paywall is not new. LinkedIn has similar rules where you can only DM first-degree connections and need a premium subscription to send DMs to non-mutual connection accounts. 

[ALSO READ: Instagram is launching its own Twitter and leaked screenshots show what it will look like]