Today I learned about the ‘secret’ Twitter DM inbox — here’s how to see it

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

There is a secret cache of secret messages hidden behind a privacy setting. If you are like me, the discovery of a hidden inbox isn't all that important. It's worth checking to see if you can see any messages that have been blocked.

You might already know that there are a few privacy settings on the micro-messaging service. You can adjust them by hitting theDM icon on the screen and selecting the settings in the top-right corner. There are a couple of settings you need to have enabled to create a secret inbox.

You need to have the option checked to allow message requests from anyone. You wouldn't have been able to receive any spammy messages if they had been put in a separate folder.

Screenshot via Twitter

If you haven't already, check if you have disabled theFilter low-quality messages option. You may have unchecked this setting for a long time without realizing it. If you have, good luck! You have been using the secret inbox for the whole time. If you haven't left this box checked, it's the easiest way to read messages you missed. When you navigate back to your message requests folder, scroll all the way to the bottom and click the "show" button to view additional messages that may have been flagged for being offensive.

You will see all the messages that have been hiding from you here. If you've combed through them, you should be able to combine them with your regular messages requests folder. Leave it off if you like the idea of a secret inbox.

I can't say I had an inbox full of life-changing messages or a bunch of friends trying to get in touch with me, but I did receive a single message from one of my previous articles.