Twitter adds read receipts, rich previews and more to Direct Messages

Twitter is giving Direct Messages a big boost today… or an annoying feature, depending who you ask.

New! Direct Messages are more dynamic than ever with read receipts, typing indicators, and web link previews. pic.twitter.com/VEU92V5Gqj

— Twitter (@Twitter) September 8, 2016

Mainly, Direct Messages can now show read receipts on your messages. While I’m a fan of read receipts – it’s 2016, after all – some users would rather not be accountable for having read a message and not yet responded.

But Twitter is trying to position DMs as a full fledged messenger. It’s adding typing indicators and rich link previews today too, and it’s hard to imagine a modern messenger without read receipts.

On the other hand, its use might be a bit more questionable here, given Twitter’s highly public nature; I’m okay with my friends and family knowing if I’ve read a message, but might not be so cool with the random people who pitch stories at me knowing the same.

Update: Thankfully, you can disable them if you want:

In other news, Periscope is getting a small feature update too. You can now see when someone you follow joins your broadcast:

See who's watching live! Now you can see when people you follow join your broadcast ? pic.twitter.com/Qf0zhbwYNt

— Periscope (@PeriscopeCo) September 8, 2016

So now you can feel all warm and fuzzy inside next time a celebrity joins your Periscope feed.