How To Stop Twitter DM Spam
True, Twitter is an amazing social media tool that connects people together, but with 26 million users strong there’s bound to be a few bad apples in the mix. As Twitter’s popularity has increased so has the prevalence of spammers. So, if you're finding yourself perpetually inundated with direct messages (DM) like “here is something you will like [insert Bit.ly link here]” then we’ve got some simple suggestions to help you cut down the clutter.
1. Follow @Spam
This is the official Twitter spam reporting site and it’s the first step in reporting spammy tweeps. Let them know who’s spam blasting by identifying the person’s Twitter handle. By reporting spammers you’re making it easier for Twitter to put a stop to their unwanted activities.
2. Report Spam Directly
If you’ve set-up auto-following through a service like SocialOomph you’ll need to comb through the list of people that you’re reciprocating follows with and determine whether they’re actual spammers so that you can manually report them. When you use an auto-follow feature and a spammer comes along to follow you, your Twitter account automatically returns the follow. The only way to remove and block the spammer is find them in your follow list, or by searching their Twitter handle and clicking the gear shift icon. This will open a drop down list where you can choose to report the account as spam.
3. Perform Routine Spam Checks
If you have less than 100 followers it should be fairly simple to do a manual check for any spammers and mark them for deletion (don’t forget to report them too). But if you have an account with thousands of followers how do you police it? You do it with a tool called Twitblock. This is a fantastic application and it’s simple to use. Just allow it to access your Twitter account and click the ‘scan for spam’ button. Depending upon how many tweeps are following you the scan can take a few minutes. Absolutely worth waiting for the results.
4. Use SocialOomph
A ton of people use SocialOomph to send out auto-DMs with their auto-follow settings. The nice thing is that as a Twitter tool, SocialOomph recognizes that not everyone wants to receive these unsolicited messages. All you need to do is follow the steps that @optmeout features on their Twitter account:
- Follow @optmeout
- Wait for follow back
- Send them a DM
- Unfollow @optmeout
Easy as pie.
Helpful Tip
Most people have a ton of DMs in their Twitter accounts. Unfortunately, Twitter doesn’t offer a simple way to bulk delete them. Here’s an easy work-around to get old DMs removed at the same time once and for all. Head on over to Damon Cortesi's Blog and scroll down a smidge until you locate Bookmarklet: DM Whacker.
Next, make sure that you're logged into your Twitter account. Once you are click the home link and then your direct message link. You must have your direct messages open in order to install and use the bookmarklet. Select the DM Whacker link and drag it to your web browser's toolbar. Open your Twitter direct messages and click the newly installed DM Whacker and you'll be presented with the option to delete all DMs or to delete based on who sent them to you.
You can further customize your delete options from this point. Click the delete button and the DM Whacker will work its magic. Instant bulk deletion.
