Twitter removes 140 character limit on 'Direct Messages'

A Twitter account is pictured in this undated photo. (AFP / Damien Meyer)

Twitter is removing the 140 character limit from its "Direct Messages" feature.

Users on the social networking site will be able to send longer private messages to one another as of July, as part of a series of changes being rolled out by the platform.

Twitter announced the news on its blog, saying: "We've done a lot to improve Direct Messages over the past year and have much more exciting work on the horizon." A more specific launch date for the update will be given later in the year. Normal tweets will continue to see a 140 character limit.