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Users now have a choice in who they want to receive messages from thanks to a covert expansion of TikTok’s direct messaging settings. Now you can choose from everyone, suggested friends, followers you have in common, people you’ve messaged, or nobody. Prior to this modification, only users who had designated one another as friends or who had come highly recommended could DM one another on the platform. The Information noticed the change first.
According to the company’s website, selecting the “Everyone” option indicates that you are open to DMs from anyone. Messages from people you follow and with whom you have common friends will show up in your inbox, while those from people you don’t follow will appear in Message requests. These messages are available for acceptance, deletion, or reporting.
The “Suggested Friends” option allows recommended friends to send you a DM, including synced Facebook friends and phone contacts. If you select “Mutual Friends,” anyone who follows you and receives your follow-back can message you. You won’t be able to send or receive direct messages from anyone if you choose the “No one” option. TikTok notes that although you cannot send or receive new direct messages in those chats, you can still access your message history in your inbox.
You need to tap the Profile icon at the bottom of the TikTok home screen to change your direct messaging preferences. The next step is to select “Settings and privacy” from the menu at the top, then tap “Privacy.” You can then select “Direct messages” and decide who is allowed to send you DMs by clicking that option.
The modification represents the most recent instance of TikTok adding social features to its app in an effort to compete with Instagram. The company replaced the “Discover” tab with a new “Friends” tab last year. When TikTok decided to abandon the Discover tab, it was clear that the company wanted to provide a new way to suggest content based on your actual friendships. In order to encourage users to post content every day at a set time in exchange for viewing posts from their friends, TikTok launched TikTok Now in September of last year, a BeReal clone.
In order to entice users to spend even more time on its app, TikTok is probably looking to expand its social features now that it has established itself as a successful entertainment platform.
