Direct messages (DMs) let you communicate with buyers and other Whatnot users directly on the platform.
As a seller, use DMs to:
- Answer questions about your products
- Coordinate shipping details
- Resolve order issues directly with buyers
Keeping conversations on Whatnot helps protect both you and your buyers, and allows us to support the transaction if something goes wrong.
On this page:
- Use direct messages safely
- Access messages in your Inbox
- Send a message
- Manage messages in your Inbox
- Block or report someone from messages
- Turn direct messages on or off
If you’re looking for buyer-specific guidance, check Direct messages for buyers.
Use direct messages safely
All messages on Whatnot must follow our Community Guidelines.
To help keep our community safe:
- Keep buying, selling, and payments on Whatnot. Don’t ask for or accept payment, purchases, or sales outside the platform.
- Don’t share personal contact information to move transactions off-platform. This includes phone numbers, email addresses, or social media handles.
- Don’t send unsolicited promotional links. Unrequested messages with links to your business, website, or shows may be considered spam.
Whatnot can’t provide support for transactions that happen outside the platform. Participating in or encouraging off-platform activity may result in account action, including suspension or ban.
To help protect users and prevent fraud, Whatnot may review messages sent on the platform.
If another user asks you to buy, sell, or pay outside of Whatnot, please report the conversation so we can investigate.
Access messages in your Inbox
You can access all of your messages from your Inbox on the Whatnot app or web.
To open your Inbox:
- Tap the messages icon on the Home screen.
Your Inbox includes:
- All messages: Messages from other users, Customer Support, and Whatnot Support.
- Customer Support: Support requests sent to you by buyers, only if you have access to the Seller Provided Support feature.
- Whatnot Support: Any chat history with our virtual assistant, Whatbot.
Note: If you’ve communicated with our Support team, those messages will appear in your email, not in your Whatnot Inbox.
Send a message
You can send a direct message from several places in the Whatnot app or web, including your Inbox, orders, and other profiles. No matter where you start, all conversations will appear in your Inbox.
Keep in mind:
- You can only message someone if they're opted in to DMs and they haven’t blocked you.
- You can create group messages with up to 20 users.
From your Inbox
- From the Home screen, tap your Inbox (messages icon).
- Tap Compose.
- Enter the username.
- Tap Start message.
- Type your message and send.
From an order you’ve sold
- Open Seller Hub.
- Go to Orders.
- Select an order.
- Choose Message the buyer.
Manage messages in your Inbox
Use these tools to keep your Inbox organized and follow up when needed.
Mark as unread
Mark a message as unread if you want to come back to it later.
To mark a message as unread:
- While viewing the message, tap the menu icon (three dots).
- Select Mark unread.
Archive messages
Archive conversations you no longer need to keep your Inbox tidy. You can access archived messages again at any time.
To archive a message:
- While viewing the message, tap the menu icon (three dots).
- Select Archive.
To view archived messages:
- From the Home screen, tap the Inbox (message) icon.
- Tap the menu icon (☰).
- Select Archive.
View message requests
If you don’t already have a connection with someone (for example, you don’t mutually follow each other), their message may appear as a request instead of showing in your Inbox automatically.
To view your message requests:
- From the Home screen, tap the Inbox (message) icon.
- Tap the menu icon (☰).
- Select Message requests.
Block or report someone from messages
Blocking someone prevents them from interacting with you again. If you report a message, our Trust & Safety team will review it.
- Open the message.
- Tap the menu icon (three dots).
- Select Block or Report.
Learn more about blocking and reporting.
Turn direct messages on or off
You’re automatically opted into DMs, but you can opt out at any time.
Keep in mind: Turning off DMs limits your ability to communicate with buyers and may affect your selling experience.
To turn DMs on or off:
- Tap or click your Account icon.
- (On web) Go to Account Settings.
- Select Preferences.
- Toggle Direct Messages on or off.