After Facebook and Instagram, Twitter to test voice DMs soon

Earlier in June this year, Twitter introduced audio tweets for iOS and is now looking forward to taking voice usage to another feature on the platform - direct messages or DMs as they are widely known. Twitter is trying the use of voice messages for DMs. Twitter's product manager for direct messages, Alex Ackerman-Greenberg told the Verge that the platform would be testing this feature soon and Brazil will be the first country to be included in the test.

Ackerman-Greenberg's message says that Twitter understands that people want more options for how they express themselves in conversations on Twitter, both private and public mode. Just like voice tweets, voice messages will have a simple, primary interface that includes only a play and a pause button. The sender's avatar, or profile picture, will thump as the message plays out.

The Verge reports that the product team designed an in-line recording experience to make it easier to send these messages as a part of the natural conversation flow so that it feels different from the current audio tweets interface. There is also a report message option if someone decides to misuse voice DMs. Since this audio clip is private, the chances of someone trying to do that are highly possible.

Twitter received a bit of flack after they announced audio tweets because they failed to factor inaccessibility. Dantley Davis, Design chief shared in an interview the Protocol that they shipped something that should not have been sent without this conversation happening.

Davis further added that they now had a full-time accessibility team within product development that included engineers and designers. Davis mentioned that they have also changed their product development process so as accessibility is considered right from the time features are being conceptualised.