This is helpful – Twitter has announced a couple of new detail additions to direct messages from users that you don’t follow, which will make it easier to see who the user is, and if/how you’re connected.

As explained by Twitter:

“Now when you receive a DM request, we’re giving you more context upfront about who sent it, like how you’re connected to the person on Twitter. And once you tap into the request, you’ll see their profile info along with their message.”

As you can see here, the new DM requests display will also show you which other profiles the user follows that are also connected to you. And when you tap into the message, you’ll now get an abbreviated profile summary at the top of the screen – which will save you having to tap through to get more insight into who the person is.

That, clearly, is a common process for people who are open to receiving DMs from anybody, which is why Twitter’s looking to incorporate it, and having the info readily available will help, not only in terms of seeing their bio, but their follower/following data and the date they joined could also be relevant in helping you understand who the person is, and why they’re getting in contact.

Interestingly, Facebook has also been experimenting with a similar listing, though on comments instead, highlighting people with large followings when they engage.

The extra, contextual detail, in this sense, is more about maximizing engagement, and it’s interesting to consider the potential value that having more information like this readily available on each message or post could bring.

In Twitter DM requests, it could definitely help to streamline your response process, and while it may seem like a minor addition, it could save some users a lot of time.

The new option is being rolled out to all users from today.