diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/feed/direct_messages.html b/bookwyrm/templates/feed/direct_messages.html
index 2c28a79b..f097fd9f 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/feed/direct_messages.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/feed/direct_messages.html
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
     </div>
     {% endfor %}
 
-    {% include 'snippets/pagination.html' with page=activities path="direct-messages" %}
 </section>
 
 {% endblock %}
diff --git a/bookwyrm/views/feed.py b/bookwyrm/views/feed.py
index d068834a..eb4e370e 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/views/feed.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/views/feed.py
@@ -87,7 +87,9 @@ class DirectMessage(View):
         if user:
             queryset = queryset.filter(Q(user=user) | Q(mention_users=user))
 
-        activities = privacy_filter(request.user, queryset, privacy_levels=["direct"])
+        activities = privacy_filter(
+            request.user, queryset, privacy_levels=["direct"]
+        ).order_by("-published_date")
 
         paginated = Paginator(activities, PAGE_LENGTH)
         activity_page = paginated.page(page)