Why can't you sent personal messages on steemit?

View this answer on Musing.io

You can send private memo's which can only be read by the person the memo was signed for.

Just add # before the message when you send Steem or SBD there is a memo field, this is where you type your message and if you prefix the memo with a # then it becomes a signed memo. See here I sent you one:

Ofcourse in a real life situation the person wouldn've posted the memo for the public to see on the internet to see like I just did :)

This is what it looks like to anyone checking the steem transactions on your account here:

https://steemd.com/@niel96

This is what the private memo looks like on the blockchain to anyone who does not have the key for signing memos:

I hope that answers your question.