Threads is testing a shortcut to quickly start a DM conversation.

Threads is testing a shortcut to make it easier to send someone a direct message, the Meta-owned company announced Thursday. Users in the test could automatically generate a hyperlink inviting others to start a private conversation by typing “DM me” or “Message me” in the post or by replying to it.

Tapping a shortcut will take you to a one-on-one direct messaging chat with that person. When two people follow each other, messages go directly to their primary inbox. If you don’t follow each other, your messages will be filtered through the “Message Requests” folder to prevent spam.

The company said the new shortcut means you won’t have to navigate to a person’s profile to start a DM conversation.

Threads has been late to introduce native DM features, but this latest move signals that the social network is trying to make messaging a more central part of its platform as it works to reduce the number of steps required to start a conversation.

The new feature is rolling out to select users in the United States and Canada. As with other tested features, it’s unknown whether Threads plans to roll this out more broadly.

DM shortcuts are just one of several new features released to Threads in recent months. The social network recently introduced AI-powered features that allow users to personalize their feeds and the ability to share posts directly to Instagram Stories without leaving the app. Additionally, Threads was spotted exploring games within Messages last month.

A recent report from market intelligence firm Similarweb suggested that Threads now surpasses X in daily mobile usage. Although X still dominates Threads on the web, the Threads mobile apps for iOS and Android have continued to grow in daily active users over the past few months.

According to the report, Threads has 141.5 million mobile daily active users as of January 7, 2026, while X has 125 million daily active users.