Twitter Adds Private DM Photos And New Swipeable Mobile Apps

Twitter has added support for private image sharing via direct message, in an update to the 140-character messaging service that also sees new, swipeable timelines in the mobile apps. The update, which is released for both the iOS and Android versions of the Twitter app, also brings direct messages further out into the open, adding a new tab in the navigation bar for the private communications.

There's also support for faster navigation between it and the other existing tabs. Whereas before you had to tap to switch between them, now the Twitter app allows for swiping left and right through the columns instead.

Support for private images has been one of the more commonly requested updates for Twitter, since the service integrated its own photo sharing system. Previously, sending an image would upload it publicly; now, however, you can opt to share them without revealing a public copy.

However, not every third-party Twitter client is handling DM image sharing correctly, and we've seen reports of some being unable to open the links.

Some of the changes are platform-specific, depending on the capabilities of the individual OSes. For iOS, for instance, there's now support for in-app notifications which pop up when you receive a DM, a favorite, a retweet, or a reply.

Meanwhile, on Android, there's now support for mobile notifications from specific users. By starring individual profiles, you can be notified just about those people, not everybody else you might follow.

You can download the new versions of Twitter for iOS and Android from the App Store and Google Play respectively.