Hajra Naz
The Meta-owned app announced Thursday that some users can now type “DM me” or “Message me” in a post or reply and automatically turn those words into a clickable link. The link invites others to start a private conversation instantly.
Tap it, and you’re taken straight to a one-on-one chat. If both people follow each other, the message lands in the main inbox. If not, it goes to the Message Requests folder to help limit spam.
The goal is simple: remove extra steps. Until now, users had to visit someone’s profile before starting a DM. This shortcut skips that entirely.
Threads was slower than some rivals to introduce native direct messaging. But this test shows the platform is putting more weight behind private conversations and trying to make messaging feel more seamless.
For now, the feature is available to a limited group of users in the U.S. and Canada. As with most test features, it’s unclear when — or if — it will roll out more broadly.
Read More: Threads Users Can Now Filter and Approve Replies for Safer Chats
The DM shortcut is part of a larger wave of updates. In recent months, Threads has added AI tools that let users personalize their feeds, made it easier to share posts to Instagram Stories without leaving the app, and has even been spotted experimenting with in-message games.
All of this comes as Threads continues to gain momentum. A recent report from market intelligence firm Similarweb found that Threads now surpasses X in daily mobile usage. While X still leads on the web, Threads’ iOS and Android apps have steadily grown their daily active users.
As of January 7, 2026, Threads reportedly had 141.5 million daily active mobile users, compared with 125 million for X.
