Do you ever feel like your tweets are a little too public? Making your Twitter account private is an easy way to gain more control over who sees your posts.
In this straightforward guide, you‘ll learn what a private Twitter account is and the key benefits of making your tweets more exclusive. I‘ll then walk you through the 7 key steps to make your Twitter profile private in just a few minutes.
Let‘s get started!
What is a Private Twitter Account?
A private Twitter account means your tweets, followers list, likes, replies, retweets, and more are hidden from anyone who doesn‘t follow you.
Only your approved followers will be able see and engage with your Twitter activity. All other users will get a message saying your tweets are protected.
There are a few key advantages to making your Twitter account private:
- More control over who views your posts
- Avoid spam follows and interactions
- Post more personal updates without worrying about judgment
- Feel comfortable tweeting your true thoughts and feelings
Now let‘s dive into the step-by-step process for how to make those coveted tweets private!
Step 1: Open Twitter and Log In
The first step is simply to navigate to Twitter.com and log into your account:
- Open your preferred web browser on your computer or mobile device
- Go to Twitter.com and enter your username and password
- Click ‘Log In‘
Once you‘ve successfully logged into your Twitter account, you‘ll see your homepage feed.
Step 2: Access Your Account Settings
With Twitter open, it‘s time to access your account settings menu.
On a desktop web browser, click your profile icon in the top right corner of the screen. Then select "Settings and privacy" from the dropdown menu.
On mobile, tap your profile icon at the top of the screen instead. Then choose "Settings and privacy" from the menu.
This will open up your account settings dashboard where you can tweak all aspects of your Twitter account.
Step 3: Go to Privacy Settings
Within your account settings, the next step is to navigate specifically to the privacy section.
On desktop and mobile, select "Privacy and safety" from the menu on the left side of the screen.
This will display the full menu for customizing privacy-related preferences.
Step 4: Toggle "Protect Tweets" On
Now for the most important step – making your tweets private!
Under the "Privacy and safety" menu, select "Audience and tagging". Then toggle on the option for "Protect your Tweets".
On desktop:
On mobile:
And that‘s it! Toggling this single switch will immediately make all your tweets private moving forward.
Step 5: Disable Photo Tagging
While you have the audience and tagging settings open, I recommend disabling photo tagging for maximum privacy.
Photo tagging allows others users to tag you in their public tweets with photos. Turn this option off so you aren‘t featured in tweets you didn‘t approve.
On desktop:
On mobile:
With protected tweets and disabled photo tagging enabled, you account is now super private!
Step 6: Be Cautious of Third-Party Apps
It‘s important to note that your Twitter privacy settings only apply within Twitter.
If you connect third-party apps and services to your Twitter account, they may still have access to your private profile data and tweets.
Be extremely cautious when allowing any outside services or apps to link with your Twitter account. And if you notice private tweets appearing publicly, change your Twitter password immediately and check connected apps.
Step 7: Be Selective with Followers
Even though your tweets are now protected, anyone can still send you a follow request.
To keep your Twitter account fully private, I recommend being extremely selective about who you allow to follow you.
Don‘t approve requests from people you don‘t know personally. And occasionally review your followers list to block any spam or suspicious accounts.
Additional Tips for Keeping Tweets Private
Here are a few more tips to maintain privacy as you use your protected Twitter profile:
- Be thoughtful about how much personal info you include in your bio and profile fields since those remain public
- Don‘t post anything publicly that you wouldn‘t want strangers to see, just in case
- Use Twitter‘s block feature liberally with abusive, offensive, or spam accounts
- Change your Twitter password if you ever notice private information appearing publicly to revoke connected app permissions
- Verify followers by checking their tweet history and follower/following numbers before approving requests
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make only some of my tweets private while keeping others public?
Unfortunately, no. Your entire Twitter account and all tweets must follow the same privacy setting. You cannot pick and choose certain tweets to be protected or public.
If I switch my account back to public in the future, will my old private tweets now be visible?
Yes. All of your past and present tweets will become visible to everyone if you disable the "Protect tweets" option. Be sure you are comfortable with all of your tweet history before making your account public again.
I noticed some of my private tweets showing up in Google search results. How did that happen?
While Twitter can keep your tweets private within their platform, they cannot control how Google indexes or caches content. If you connected a third-party app that shared private data publicly, Google may have indexed tweets before they were deleted.
Can people still direct message me if I have a private account?
Yes, but you can limit who can message you. Under the same audience and tagging settings, change the option for "Allow message requests from…" to ensure only followers can message you.
I hope this guide covered everything you need to know about how to make your Twitter account private! The 7 steps are quick and easy to follow whenever you feel like locking down your profile.
