Twitter introduces the feature everyone has been waiting for
What is Twitter's new feature about?
Twitter announced the launch of direct message search for all iOS users; the feature is available from October 1. The tool had long been anticipated by users. Testing began a month ago, and according to the announcements, search was supposed to be possible only for recent messages, and only by the names of people or groups. Unfortunately, the tool does not include searching the content of messages.
Despite the announcements, the new feature also searches older messages. However, it is unclear how Twitter defined "recent." As expected, we must know the name of the person or group we want to find. We can assume that the addition is a starting point for building a full message search engine. We just have to wait and hope that the next update brings greater improvements.
Get your search on. DM search is rolling out to everyone on iOS today.
— Twitter (@Twitter) October 1, 2019
Another filter for suspicious content
Moreover, as part of the new features, Twitter has prepared a filter that searches for suspicious content, or content we do not want to see. This brings to mind the famous Facebook Messenger function, the so-called "Other" tab.
Unwanted messages aren’t fun. So we’re testing a filter in your DM requests to keep those out of sight, out of mind. pic.twitter.com/Sg5idjdeVv
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) August 15, 2019
WHICH SEARCH METHOD DID TWITTER CONSIDER MOST USEFUL?
How does DM search work on iOS?
It must be admitted that the very idea of introducing such a feature could prove really beneficial for the service. iPhone users have been able to search their recent message exchanges with other people who have accounts on the platform since yesterday. The first search always shows the most recent conversation, while subsequent ones try to reach a bit further back. Both operations require at least the first name of the person with whom the conversation took place. It is known that this is somewhat cumbersome, but let's hope that the feature will soon be expanded to include text search.
Summary
On October 1, Twitter rolled out a direct message (DM) search feature for all iOS users. The tool allows searching conversations by the names of people or groups, though it does not cover message content. Interestingly, the search engine also reaches older messages, despite earlier announcements that it would be limited to the most recent conversations.
At the same time, the service is testing a filter for suspicious messages in DM requests, reminiscent of the "Other" tab in Messenger. Both novelties may be a preview of a full chat search engine, which Twitter is developing in stages. Users can expect further updates.