Credit: Unsplash
Secure conversations, even with folks who don’t work with you.
For everyone that’s been working at home the past year, Slack has become a vital tool. I’ve always got it open when I boot up my computer in the morning, and it’s become my first and foremost means of staying in contact with my coworkers. But while my line of work only necessitates in-office communications, other workers out there may need to take extra steps to speak with clients and partners that Slack didn’t allow for. Notice how I said “didn’t.”
Yesterday, Slack launched its newest feature, Slack Connect. Slack Connect allows you to send DM invitations to anyone that uses the service, as opposed to only being able to speak to users within designated company spaces. Just send that invitation, and you’ve got a private, secure line with anyone who accepts it, and you can stay in contact with up to 20 outside companies at once.
Slack Connect now lets you DM people outside your work bubble https://t.co/ZJnIpdhNqk pic.twitter.com/DWhAVGUVMN
— Engadget (@engadget) March 24, 2021
However, users did spot a problem with this new feature: harassment-potential. In theory, malicious users wouldn’t be able to bother you over Slack if you don’t accept the invitation to talk with them, but in practice, a jerk could just add a bunch of rude language to the invitation message, which is immediately carbon-copied to your email address. They could send as many of those as they want, and there wasn’t really anything you could do about it. This morning, Slack quickly walked back that feature, removing the ability to customize DM invitations. So now if someone wants to get in your face, you have to accept their invite first.
Slack Connect is currently only available to paid Slack users, but it’ll be available to free accounts at some point in the future along with anti-phishing measures and some customization options.
