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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsTwitter tested a filter for unwanted direct-message requests in August 2019, then began rolling it out across iOS, Android and the web in September. The feature moved some requests out of the main view and hid potentially offensive previews; it did not stop every unwanted message from being sent or automatically delete all spam. Today, X Help describes a quality filter for message requests, but its current guidance should not be confused with the 2019 interface.
What Twitter’s DM filter did in 2019
On August 16, 2019, TechCrunch reported that Twitter was testing a filter in message requests. The company’s stated aim was to keep unwanted messages out of sight. The filter moved requests it identified as unwanted—including spam and offensive content—into a separate view. A recipient had to tap “Show” to view them; potentially offensive previews were hidden, and users could delete a request without opening it. TechCrunch’s report on the test quoted Twitter Support announcing it the previous day.
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When the filter rolled out
On September 30, 2019, TechCrunch reported that Twitter was rolling the filter out to iOS, Android and web. The feature appeared in Additional Messages, where direct messages from people a recipient did not follow went. It hid previews of potentially offensive content and let recipients delete messages without opening them. TechCrunch’s rollout report described the move from test to broader availability.
The distinction matters: the filter was a way to sort and review message requests, not a guarantee that spam would be blocked before delivery. A filtered message could still be inspected or deleted by its recipient.
How message requests and filtering work in X now
X Help currently says that, when message requests are allowed, messages from people a user does not follow appear in Requests. On iOS and Android, a quality filter is enabled by default and hides requests X considers lower quality. Those filtered requests remain accessible at the bottom of Requests. See X’s current Direct Messages help page for its documented controls; labels and behavior may change over time.
- Review: Open Requests and look at filtered requests at the bottom if you want to inspect them.
- Accept or delete: The help page describes accepting a request to continue the conversation or deleting it.
- Block or report: These are separate options for dealing with an account or a message you consider abusive or unwanted.
- Graphic media warnings: X also documents warnings for graphic media in message requests.
Filtering changes what is surfaced; deleting removes a request from your inbox; blocking restricts contact from an account; and reporting sends information to X for review. The current help page explains these as distinct actions, rather than treating the quality filter as a substitute for them.
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What the reported 70% spam reduction refers to
X’s 2023 Digital Services Act assessment reported a 70% reduction in DM spam “following the introduction of this feature.” In context, that feature limits who can send DMs to a user—verified users and people the user follows. The figure is X’s company-reported result for that access restriction, not a measured effect of the 2019 offensive-content filter. X’s 2023 DSA assessment describes the claim.
How the feature developed after launch
Twitter’s release notes provide further chronology: a DM Quality Filter could place some message requests at the bottom of the requests inbox, and a March 2020 entry said messages considered spammy would be tombstoned so users could decide whether to see them. These notes support the distinction between hiding or sorting messages and preventing them from being sent. Twitter’s release notes on the DM Quality Filter document those changes.
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