Social Media Twitter 34 34 people found this article helpful How to Use Twitter @Replies and Direct Messages Reply to someone on Twitter publicly or privately by Linda Roeder Writer Former Lifewire writer Linda Roeder is a longtime web enthusiast and consultant with a broad knowledge of how personal web pages, blogs, and social networking. our editorial process LinkedIn Linda Roeder Updated on October 18, 2020 Twitter Facebook Flipboard Pinterest Twitter Snapchat Instagram YouTube Online Dating Tweet Share Email When you want to publicly reply to someone on Twitter, use @reply at the beginning of your tweet. You should also know how to send a private message on Twitter in case you don't want everyone to see your conversation. Information in this article applies to the Twitter mobile app and the web browser version of Twitter. What Are Twitter @Replies? On Twitter, @reply is a way to reply to something a specific person posted. A typical @reply would look like this: @username message. For example, if you are trying to send a message to @linroeder, your @reply would look like this: @linroeder How are you? When someone replies to one of your posts using @reply, the tweet will show up on your profile page under Tweets & replies. Don't use @reply if you don't want your message to be public. If you want to send a private message, use a DM (direct message) instead. What's a Direct Message? Twitter DMs are private messages that can only be read by the individuals you send them to. To access your Direct Messages in the Twitter app, tap the Envelope at the bottom of the screen. To send a DM, tap the New Message icon. On Twitter.com, select Messages on the left side of the page to see your DM conversations and send new DMs.