# Private message

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{{Short description|Mode of electronic communication}}
[[File:Facebook chat screenshot (English).png|thumb|Messages sent between users of [Facebook](/source/Facebook) on the [Facebook Chat](/source/Facebook_Messenger) platform]]
In computer networking, a '''private message''' ('''PM'''), or '''direct message''' ('''DM'''), refers to a private communication, often text-based, sent or received by a user of a private communication channel on any given platform. Unlike public posts, PMs are only viewable by the participants. Long a function present on [IRC](/source/IRC)s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marcoccia |first1=Michel |title=On-line polylogues: conversation structure and participation framework in internet newsgroups |journal=Journal of Pragmatics |date=January 2004 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=115–145 |doi=10.1016/S0378-2166(03)00038-9}}</ref> and [Internet forums](/source/Internet_forums),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Motoyama |first1=Marti |last2=McCoy |first2=Damon |last3=Levchenko |first3=Kirill |last4=Savage |first4=Stefan |last5=Voelker |first5=Geoffrey M. |chapter=An analysis of underground forums |title=Proceedings of the 2011 ACM SIGCOMM conference on Internet measurement conference |date=2 November 2011 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.1145/2068816.2068824|isbn=978-1-4503-1013-0 }}</ref> private channels for PMs have also been prevalent features on [instant messaging](/source/instant_messaging) (IM) and on [social media](/source/social_media) networks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vuorinen |first1=Jukka |last2=Koivula |first2=Aki |last3=Koiranen |first3=Ilkka |chapter=The Confidence in Social Media Platforms and Private Messaging |title=Social Computing and Social Media. Design, Ethics, User Behavior, and Social Network Analysis |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |date=2020 |volume=12194 |pages=669–682 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-49570-1_48|isbn=978-3-030-49569-5 }}</ref> It may be either [synchronous](/source/Synchronous_computer-mediated_communication) (e.g. on an IM) or [asynchronous](/source/Asynchronous_computer-mediated_communication) (e.g. on an Internet forum).

The term ''private message'' (PM) originated as a feature on internet forums, while the term ''direct message'' (DM) originated as a feature on [Twitter](/source/Twitter). Due to the popularity of the latter service, ''DM'' has since been appropriated by other platforms, such as [Instagram](/source/Instagram), and is often [genericized](/source/Generic_trademark) in popular usage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Witman |first=Emma |date=May 27, 2021 |title=What does DM mean? Understanding the popular internet shorthand that refers to private messaging |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/dm-meaning |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205155704/https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/dm-meaning |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2025 |website=[Business Insider](/source/Business_Insider)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=DM{{superscript|2}} |quote={{smallcaps|Noun}}: a private message sent on social media, especially Twitter [...] {{Smallcaps|Verb}}: send (someone) a private message on social media, especially Twitter [...] {{smallcaps|Origin}} early 21st century: abbreviation of ''direct message'', from the Direct Message feature of the social media service Twitter. |encyclopedia=[New Oxford American Dictionary](/source/New_Oxford_American_Dictionary) |edition=3rd |editor1-last=Stevenson |editor1-first=Angus |editor2-last=Lindberg |editor2-first=Christine A. |publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-539288-3 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195392883.001.0001/m_en_us1449319 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404190139/https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195392883.001.0001/m_en_us1449319 |archive-date=April 4, 2025 |access-date=April 4, 2025 |via=[Oxford Reference](/source/Oxford_Reference)}}</ref>

== Overview ==
There are two main types of private messages, and one obscure type: 

* One type includes those found on IRCs<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tatters |first1=Wes |title=Navigating the Internet with America Online |year=1995 |publisher=Sams.net |isbn=978-0-672-30763-8 |pages=215 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9hRMF1dY0cC |language=en}}</ref> and Internet forums,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khorasani |first1=Manouchehr Moshtagh |title=The Development of Controversies: From the Early Modern Period to Online Discussion Forums |year=2008 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-3-03911-711-6 |pages=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtBci2GslUkC |language=en}}</ref> as well as on social media services like [Twitter](/source/Twitter), Facebook, and [Instagram](/source/Instagram), where the focus is public posting, PMs allow users to communicate privately without leaving the platform. 
* The second type are those relayed through [instant messaging](/source/instant_messaging) platforms such as [WhatsApp](/source/WhatsApp) and [Snapchat](/source/Snapchat), where users join the networks ''primarily'' to exchange PMs.<ref name=":1" /> 
* A third type, peer-to-peer messaging, occurs when users create and own the infrastructure used to transmit and store the messages; while features vary depending on application, they give the user full control over the data they transmit. An example of software that enables this kind of messaging is Classified-ads.<ref>Catalin Chelariu. 2016, May 31. Classified ads. Retrieved from "[https://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Other-Internet-Related/Classified-ads.shtml Softpedia - Classified Ads]"</ref>

Besides serving as a tool to connect privately with friends and family, PMs have gained momentum in the workplace. Working professionals use PMs to reach coworkers in other spaces and increase [efficiency](/source/efficiency) during meetings. Although useful, using PMs in the workplace may blur the boundary between work and private lives.<ref>Lee, T. 2010, September 30. "Power of the personality message". Retrieved from "[https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/09/29/can-twitter-lead-people-to-the-streets/reaching-and-persuading-the-masses NY Times - Reaching and Persuading the Masses]"</ref><ref>"My messages" [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from "[https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Personal_messages WikiSimplemachines.org - Personal Messages]"</ref><ref name=":1">"Advantages and disadvantages of an instant messenger". (n.d.). Retrieved from {{cite web |url=http://www.bigantsoft.com/tutorial/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-an-Instant-Messenger.html |title=Advantages and Disadvantages of an Instant Messenger |access-date=2014-03-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728110557/http://www.bigantsoft.com/tutorial/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-an-Instant-Messenger.html |archive-date=2013-07-28 }}</ref><ref>Wagner, K. (2013, December 27). "Why social networks are crazy private messaging". Retrieved from [https://mashable.com/2013/12/27/social-networks-private-messaging/ Mashable]</ref>

Some common forms of private messaging today include [Facebook](/source/Facebook) messaging (sometimes referred to as "inboxing"), [Twitter](/source/Twitter) direct messaging, and Instagram direct messaging. These forms of private messaging provide a private space on a usually public site. For instance, most activity on Twitter is public, but Twitter DMs provide a private space for communication between two users. This differs from mediums like email, texting, and [Snapchat](/source/Snapchat), where most or all activity is always private.<ref>Instagram. (n.d.). Blog. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from [https://web.archive.org/web/20180517010352/https://instagram.tumblr.com/post/69789416311/instagram-direct Instagram]</ref> Modern forms of private messaging may include multimedia messages, such as pictures or videos.<ref>Crocker, D. (2012, March 20). "Nowadays the private chats sent through the social medias are [encrypted](/source/encrypted) end-to-end so that it appears in a [ciphertext](/source/ciphertext) form which cannot be easily understood by an unauthorised person".  [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/a-history-of-e-mail-collaboration-innovation-and-the-birth-of-a-system/2012/03/19/gIQAOeFEPS_story.html "A history of e-mail: Collaboration, innovation and the birth of a system"]. ''The Washington Post''.</ref><ref>Drucker, P. F. (1999, October). Beyond the Information Revolution - 99.10. Retrieved from [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/10/beyond-the-information-revolution/304658/ Theatlantic.com]</ref><ref>The History of Communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from [https://www.thoughtco.com/early-history-of-communication-4067897 Thoughtco.com]</ref><ref>Honan, M. (2013, December 10). [https://www.wired.com/2013/12/twitter-private-photo-sharing/ Twitter Makes Its Play for Private Messaging | Gadget Lab | Wired.com].</ref>

==History==
{{See also|History of email|Instant messaging#History|SMS#Developmental history}}

[Email](/source/Email) was first developed to send messages between different computers on [ARPANET](/source/ARPANET) in 1971.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lievrouw |first1=Leah A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZ3ktyGA0rwC&q=ARPANET&pg=PA253 |title=Handbook of New Media: Student Edition |last2=Livingstone |first2=Sonia M. |date=2006-01-17 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4129-1873-2 |pages=253 |language=en}}</ref> Access to ARPANET was primarily limited to universities and other research institutions. Starting in 1983 or 1984, [FidoNet](/source/FidoNet) allowed home computer users to send and receive email via [bulletin board system](/source/bulletin_board_system)s. Information services such as [CompuServe](/source/CompuServe), [America Online](/source/AOL), and [Prodigy](/source/Prodigy_(online_service)) also helped to popularizes online messaging. The advent of the public [World Wide Web](/source/World_Wide_Web) in 1993 increased access to email via internet service providers, and later via [webmail](/source/webmail). [Instant messaging](/source/Instant_messaging) systems became popular in the mid 1990s, as Internet access improved and personal computers became more common. The introduction of [Skype](/source/Skype) in 2003 popularized Internet-based voice and video messaging. Direct messaging is now a feature of all major [social networking service](/source/social_networking_service)s.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

==Privacy concerns==
{{Main|Digital privacy|Internet privacy|Email privacy}}
In January 2014, Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley filed a [class-action lawsuit](/source/class-action_lawsuit) against Facebook for breaching the [Electronic Communications Privacy Act](/source/Electronic_Communications_Privacy_Act). They alleged that private messages which contained URLs were being read and used to generate profit, through [data mining](/source/data_mining) and [user profiling](/source/user_profiling), and that it was misleading for Facebook to refer to the functionality as "private" with the implication that the communication was "free from surveillance".<ref>Grove, Jennifer (2014). Facebook Sued for Allegedly Intercepting Private Messages. Mobile World Congress. Retrieved from [https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-sued-for-allegedly-intercepting-private-messages/ Cnet.com]</ref>

In 2012, some Facebook users misinterpreted a redesign of the Facebook wall as publicly sharing private messages from 2008–2009. These were found to be public wall posts from those years, made at a time when it was not possible to like or comment on a wall post, making the notes look like private messages.<ref>Hamburger, Ellis (2012). Facebook privacy scare illuminates the evolution of online conversations. Retrieved from [https://www.theverge.com/2012/9/24/3384058/facebook-public-messages-privacy-scare The Verge]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Internet forum terminology
Category:Social media
Category:Software features

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Private message](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_message) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_message?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.