14 Dec 2013

How to send DM on Twitter w/o permission

I just recalled "SMS commands" feature and tried to send a DM (private, direct message) with "Share on Twitter"-button. It works!

But you know what's really cool? ANY app can send a DM on behalf of your account, by sending to API "d NAME TEXT". I just tested with Twitpic, as you can see it doesn't require any DM permissions.


Another guy claims he reported it before and twitter refused to fix.

Why is it a bug?
1) App is supposed to have Read & Write permission to access DMs. With this shortcut you can bypass that protection
2) DMs are easier to use for spam. User will barely notice it.
3) Also DMs don't show if it was sent with official client or a 3rd party OAuth client. Which is great for phishing.

API docs:
[no permission] https://dev.twitter.com/docs/api/1.1/post/direct_messages/new
[warns about permission] https://dev.twitter.com/docs/api/1.1/get/direct_messages/show