The arrival of direct messaging options for users on TikTok has given them the ability to choose who they want to message them from. Prior to this change, only people users had identified as friends or were recommended could send a DM to each other on the platform. This change is likely aimed at increasing engagement rates for the platform and giving users more choice in who they interact with.
Anyone can send you a message on this platform, but users who select the “Everyone” option will see messages from people they follow and mutual friends in their inbox, while messages sent to those who do not follow the sender will appear in Message requests. This system helps to foster relationships and allow users to stay up-to-date on what is happening around them.
If you don’t want to receive direct messages from certain people, you can choose to opt-out of those chats by selecting the “No one” option. This will disable contact sending in that chat, but your message history will still be accessible in your inbox.
If you want to keep your DMs private, you can tap on the Menu button at the top and select “Settings and privacy” and then tap “Privacy.” From there, you will need to select “Direct messages” and then you will be able to choose who you would like to allow to send you DMs. You can set your notification settings so that only certain people can contact you through TikTok, or even block certain users entirely!
TikTok is looking to compete against Instagram by announcing new social features on its platform. The company is moving away from the Discover tab and is introducing a new “Friends” tab that offers an easier way to recommend content based on your real friendships. Last September, TikTok launched a BeReal clone called TikTok Now that encourages users to post everyday at a specific time in exchange for viewing posts from their friends. These new social features show how serious TikTok is about becoming the go-to app for social media content and communication.
TikTok is looking to expand its social features in order to get users to spend even more time on its app. The app already has a large following, and adding social features could help it grow even more.
