1. Slack
  2. Using Slack
  3. Send messages

Send direct messages

Direct messages (DMs) are one-to-one conversations between you and another workspace member. Group direct messages (group DMs) are smaller discussions outside of channels between you and up to eight other members. DMs are good for one-off conversations that don’t require an entire channel to weigh in.

A few things to bear in mind:

  • When you invite someone to a group DM, a new conversation will start without the previous message history.
  • To preserve message history, you can convert your group DM to a private channel before adding new members.
  • It’s not possible to leave a group DM, so you’ll need to ask one of the participants to create a new DM without you.

Note: Only members with permission to create private channels can move a group DM to a private channel.

 

Access your DMs    

Desktop

iOS

Android

Windows Phone

Recent DMs are listed under the Direct messages heading in the left-hand sidebar. If you want, you can customise your sidebar so you only see what’s most important.
  1. Click Direct messages in the left-hand sidebar to see all of your DMs.
  2. Or use a keyboard shortcut:
    Mac: ⌘ShiftK 
    Windows/Linux:     CtrlShiftK

Open a DM conversation

  1. Swipe right to open the sidebar.
  2. Tap Jump to…, then type the name(s) of the member(s) in your DM. 

View DMs in the sidebar

  1. Swipe right to open the sidebar and scroll down to Direct messages, or swipe left to view recent DMs.  

Open a DM conversation

  1. Swipe right to open the sidebar.
  2. Tap Jump to…, then type the name(s) of the member(s) in your DM. 

View DMs in the sidebar

  1. Swipe right to open the sidebar and scroll down to Direct messages, or swipe left to view recent DMs. 
  1. Swipe right to open the sidebar.
  2. Scroll down to Direct messages. 

Tip: To remove a DM from your sidebar, click or tap the  icon.

 

Send a new DM

DM one person

Desktop

iOS

Android

Windows Phone

  1. Click the  plus icon next to Direct messages in the left sidebar.
  2. Search for the person you want to message.
  3. Click Go to start your new DM conversation.
  1. Open the Slack app, then swipe right to open the sidebar. 
  2. Scroll down to Direct messages and tap the  plus icon.
  3. Search for the person you want to message and tap the circle next to their name.
  4. Tap Next to start your new DM conversation.
  1. Open the Slack app, then swipe right to open the sidebar.
  2. Scroll down to Direct messages and tap the  plus icon.
  3. Search for the person you want to message and tap the circle next to their name.
  4. Tap Start to start your new DM conversation. 
  1. Open the Slack app, then tap the  menu icon to open the sidebar. 
  2. Scroll down to Direct messages, then tap the  plus icon. 
  3. Search for the person you want to message and tap the circle next to their name. 
  4. Tap the  forward arrow to start your new DM conversation.

Start a group DM

Desktop

iOS

Android

Windows Phone

  1. Click the  plus icon next to Direct messages in the left sidebar.
  2. Search for people and click their names to add them.
  3. Click Go to finish. 
  1. Open the Slack app, then swipe left to open the sidebar.
  2. Scroll down to Direct messages, then tap the  plus icon. 
  3. Search for people and tap the circle next to their names to add them. 
  4. Tap Next to finish. 
  1. Open the Slack app, then swipe left to open the sidebar.
  2. Scroll down to Direct messages, then tap the  plus icon. 
  3. Search for people and tap the circle next to their names to add them. 
  4. Tap Next to finish. 
  1. Tap the  menu icon in the top right to open the sidebar.
  2. Tap the  plus icon next to the Direct messages heading. 
  3. Search for people and tap the circle next to their names to add them. 
  4. Tap the  forward arrow to finish. 

 

Add members to a group DM  

Desktop

iOS

Android

Windows Phone

  1. From a group DM, click the  cog icon.
  2. Select Invite another member. 
  3. Search for the person you want to invite, then click their name to add them. 
  4. Click Go to create a new group DM. 
  1. From a group DM, tap the names at the top of the message. 
  2. Tap Add someone. 
  3. Find the person you want to add and tap the circle next to their name. 
  4. Tap Next to create a new group DM. 
  1. From a group DM, tap the names at the top of the message. 
  2. Tap Add someone. 
  3. Find the person you want to add and tap the circle next to their name. 
  4. Tap Next to create a new group DM. 
  1. From a group DM, tap the names at the top of the message. 
  2. Tap Invite. 
  3. Find the person you want to add and tap the circle next to their name.
  4. Tap the  forward arrow to create a new group DM. 

Tip: You can also type /invite in the message field of a group DM to add people. 

Who can use this feature?
  • All members can send DMs. Single-channel guests can participate in group DMs, but cannot start their own.
  • Free, Standard, Plus and Enterprise Grid subscriptions

Nice one!

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Was this article helpful?
0/600

If you’d like a member of our support team to respond to you, please send a message to feedback@slack.com.

Whoops! We’re having some problems. Please try again later.

Related articles

Related articles

Recently viewed articles