Updated Nov 22 2011:
I’ve been on Twitter for a few years (@DaveFowler) and I’ve always found it a pain to delete all of my DM’s in one go.
For a while the only free option to delete all direct messages on Twitter all at once was a program called Twitter Whacker but it’s no longer an option since Twitter changed its API.
This meant the easiest way to get rid of DMs was to log in to either HootSuite or TweetDeck and delete the direct messages one at a time.
It’s a pain doing it that way but it’s still better than deleting them directly from the Twitter interface which takes 3 clicks! Not fun if you’ve got 100′s of messages!
There are plenty of paid services that will do mass deleting for you, but that’s not an attractive option for most people.
So, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for another free solution and I’ve finally found it.
The Solution:
Social Oomph has a free to use tool to delete all Twitter Direct messages from your DM inbox.
All you have to do is sign up for a free account (it’s painless, I promise) and then you can delete all your messages in one go.
Here’s a screenshot of the DM delete page and you’ll notice my Twitter account name shown there.
Screenshot
You have the option to delete all received DMs, DM older than 7 days or DMs older than 30 days.
What it won’t do though is delete sent DMs, you still have to do those yourself.
The program schedules deletions, I have no idea what a typical turnaround time would be but all my 50 or so messages were deleted within 10 minutes.
DM Purge - You're notified via email when it's done
It’s a good tool, but I confess I didn’t find the user experience particularly intuitive so here’s a quick guide…
Guide to using SocialOomph to delete DM’s
Once you’ve signed up for the account and logged in, you’ll need to link your Twitter account. You do this from the ‘Main Landing Page’
Select ‘Add A New Twitter Account’
Add Your Twitter Account
Click the ‘Authorize Access’ button and enter your Twitter account details as requested.
Authorize DM Deleter
You can then click ‘Direct Messages’ in the left sidebar and from the submenu click ‘Purge DM Inbox’. The rest is self explanatory.
Clear Your DM Inbox
Enjoy! And if you found this helpful, please Tweet it below. Thanks.
Patricia (44)
Tracy (35)
Anne Galivan (19)
Adrenalynn (18)
Tara@Sticky Fingers (16)
Blogger Dad (12)
Mike Goad (7)
Tim Brownson (6)
Kelloggsville (4)
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Well Mr Anally Retentive, what harm were they doing? Eh? Why not just leave them, it’s not like you have to step over them every time you want to get to the lav is it?
I knew you wouldn’t understand. They were looking at me in a funny way and called my pint a girl. What would you have done?
“I’m not a Screaming Attention Whore” – hmm, that’s not what Blogger Dad told me . . .
Tara, ah, yes, but are you quite sure he used the word “Attention”?
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Screaming Attention Whore. I’ll keep my precious DMs, thankyouverymuch.
Lynn, Thank you for following me. I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say. Here’s your free gift.
And you’d better not have deleted those love declarations I DMed you, just saying.
Adrenalynn,
I printed them out and filed them under “stalker”.
Oh…this is really great info. These messages drive me nuts. I have a bad habit of just accepting follow then deleting them if I notice they are a “pillocks.”
Thank you for the info. I guess I would be labeled the “roaming blog reader.”
Hi Tammy,
It’s a real downside to Twitter. It drives me bnkers when I get an auto reply. And there are PLENTY of pillocks
Someone said you were wearing a mankini over here.
where is it?
Hi Vodkamom
Unfortunately I had to send it back to BloggerDad. We had a brief discussion about mankinis and I poured scorn on them, but he was adamant that I should try one before making judgement so he lent me his. I’d only worn it once before he demanded I return it. I offered to wash it first but he insisted that I send it back immediately and told me that he would wash it ‘at some point’. He’s a strange guy. Anyway, it turns out the mankini was no good to me, he’d stretched it all out of shape.
I’m betting a few photos were taken before you sent it back though.
Fess up, where are they? I’ll pay good money to make sure they don’t see the light of day . . .
I tried but I gave up after I’d cracked the second camera lens. BloggerDad may have a few of himself though… he’s much more photogenic than I.
@selfish – Hey, I stretched it out? I can’t help it if I’m ALL MAN while you belong to the teeny weenie club. Maybe you can borrow your wife’s underwear. Again.
@Tara – And by making sure the photos don’t see the light of day, you mean your nightstand, correct? Right next to those other photos of me that you begged, pleaded and finally paid for.
You two really ought to know better than to wake me up. Cause when I get going, I don’t stop.
BloggerDad,
I can’t believe you’d bring ‘ass size’ into this!
And I’d love to borrow my wife’s underwear again, but I expect you’ve stretched that out too!
Dang, I’ve been found out.
I can’t keep the photos of you guys on my ‘nightstand’ (you mean bedside table right?) because hubby would be jealous, so the pix of you two and Hugh Jackman are under my pillow.
Tara – I hope Fowler’s photo isn’t behind mine.
Just saying.
BloggerDad,
So are you saying you’d prefer Hugh Jackman’s photo behind yours?
Just askin’.
Well, if I’m gonna have a guy getting all handsy with me, I think I’d prefer Hugh Jackman over you. At least then I know Tara will be watching.
Wow, this thread has really devolved. I blame Tara.
Oh man, I feel all queezy now. You win. I give up.
Oh come on baby, don’t play all coy now.
Don’t pretend like you don’t like it that way!
That sound you just heard was the collective blogosphere vomiting in their mouths.
You can use TweetTwain to delete all of your direct messages. This tool supports multiple accounts as well. Get it from http://www.tweettwain.com
Im using http://www.vicconsult.com/twitter-autoresponder-auto-reply/ as autoresponder. And they also give option to delete DMs.