Twitter is yet to follow Facebook's lead by spinning off direct messages into a standalone service, but now users can do just that with the help of a third-party app.
Direct Messenger for iOS is a Twitter-flavoured version of Facebook Messenger, allowing users to DM in peace without distractions from their timeline.
As this is not an official app from Twitter, there are a few compatibility issues since the microblogging giant imposes API restrictions on third-party developers.
Text pings back and forth just fine, but web users who receive animated emoji sent from the app will see only a static symbol, while images are converted into web links.
Twitter has not confirmed any plans to launch a standalone messaging service of its own, but did open up DMs recently by removing the 140-character limit.
Direct Messenger is available as a free download from the App Store.