Slack had tried to become a messaging platform for the public with a recent update that allowed DMs to be sent to anyone. However, the feature received a severe backlash after concerns were raised over the protection protocols in place.
The Concern Over Slack
Slack executives have stated that they have decided to disable sending messages with invites. This was done as a response to concerns over the abuse of the feature to send harmful messages or harassing users comparatively easily. Now, it is no longer possible to spam an individual’s inbox with just an e-mail address.
Jonathan Prince, the VP of policy and communications of Slack, said that they received immediate feedback on the new feature called Slack Connect DMs. Users reported that the email invitations could be abused to send damaging messages. As such, the company has immediately taken the decision to drop the feature that would allow users to customize the invitation mail.
He continued that the app prides itself on its administrative controls and security features. He admitted that the update was a mistake on the part of the company. They expressed their gratitude for the feedback and promised a fix as soon as possible.
The exact concern was that there was no option to opt-out of the feature. There were also no limitations on how many can be sent. Even more dangerously, since the email would be sent from [email protected], any protection filters would be bypassed.
The application is primarily used by companies. As such, even now, it is not clear if there is an option that would allow users to not be a part of this feature. Furthermore, the basic plan costs around $8 every month, which is a rather cheap price for such an exploitative feature.
