How to make your Twitter (X) account private

Looking to make your Twitter (X) account more private? 

It’s simple—both on desktop and mobile. 

Follow our step-by-step guide to keep your posts hidden from public view.

Let’s dive in!

Updated: March 5, 2025

In short, to make your X (formerly Twitter) account more private: log in to the Twitter (X) account and click your profile icon to access the menu. From there, select “settings and support,” then “settings and privacy.” Click “privacy and safety” and adjust the settings in each tab.

Let’s look in detail how to do that and more.

How to make your Twitter (X) account private in a web browser

Here’s what you need to do to set your Twitter (X) account to private on a desktop via a web browser:

1. Click on “more” in the sidebar on the left.
2. Go to “settings and privacy.”
3. Go to “privacy and safety.”
4. Go to “audience, media, and tagging.”
5. Toggle the “protect your posts” option.

How to make your Twitter (X) account private on Android and iOS

Follow these steps to make your Twitter (X) account private on Android and iOS: 

1. Click on your profile icon in the upper-left corner.
2. Open “settings & support.”
3. Go to “settings and privacy.”
4. Go to “privacy and safety.”
5. Go to “audience and tagging.”
6. Toggle the “protect your posts” option.

Want to know how to make other social media profiles more private? Check out these resources:

• How to make Facebook private
• How to make Pinterest private
• How to make Venmo private
• How to make TikTok private
• How to make Instagram private

What happens when you make your Twitter (X) account private?

When you make your Twitter (X) account private, only your approved followers will be able to see your content and interact with you.

Here’s what that means in detail:

• Approval: You’ll get a notification when someone wants to follow you, and you can either accept or decline the request.
• Visibility: Only your approved followers will be able to see your posts and any links to them.
• Reposting: Followers can’t use the repost button or add comments to share your posts.
• Searchability: Your protected posts won’t show up on third-party search engines like Google.
• Access: Only you and your followers can search for your posts on X.
• Replies: If you reply to someone who isn’t following you, they won’t see your reply.
• Links: When you share a link in a private post, it’s shortened to a t.co link. Anyone with that link can still visit the original website.

There’s some things that won’t change.

All your current followers will still be able to see your posts. Also, accounts that followed you before you went private will still be able to see your feed. 

Additional privacy settings to make Twitter (X) even more private

In addition (or as an alternative) to setting your Twitter (X) account to private, there are several other privacy options you can use to strengthen your privacy:

• Mute or block users
• Control who can message you
• Turn off location sharing
• Control who can search for you
• Disable photo tagging
• Control who can reply to your posts
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

Mute or block users 

You can choose to mute or block people. Muting hides their posts from your timeline without letting them know, while blocking stops them from seeing your profile or interacting with you.

How to mute or block users:

1. Go to the profile of the user you want to mute or block.
2. Click on the three dots “…” on their profile.
3. Select “mute” or “block” from the dropdown menu.

Control who can message you

You can decide who can send you direct messages by either limiting them to people you follow or turning off DMs completely.

How to limit direct messages:

1. First, go to “settings and support” > “settings and privacy.” 
2. Then, go to “privacy and safety” > “direct messages.” 
3. In the section “allow message requests from” uncheck the box “everyone” and change it to “no one” or “verified users.” 

Turn off location sharing

You can disable location services in your posts to stop sharing your current location when posting.

How to turn off location sharing:

When composing a post, click the location pin icon (if visible).

Select “remove location” or turn off location sharing entirely in settings:

1. First, go to “settings and support” > “settings and privacy.” 
2. Then, go to “privacy and safety” > “location information.”
3. Toggle off “precise location.”

Control who can search for you

You can prevent people from finding your account through your email or phone number to keep your profile more private. If someone knows your username and searches for it, your account will still be listed.

How to limit discoverability:

1. First, go to “settings and support” > “settings and privacy.” 
2. Then, go to “privacy and safety” > “discoverability and contacts.”
3. Uncheck the boxes for “let others find you by your email” and “let others find you by your phone.”

Disable photo tagging

You can stop others from tagging you in photos or limit tagging to people you follow.

How to turn off photo tagging:

1. First, go to “settings and support” > “settings and privacy.” 
2. Then, go to “privacy and safety” > “audience and tagging.”
3. Under “photo tagging,” turn off the setting or restrict it to people you follow.

Control who can reply to your posts

You can restrict who can reply to your posts, limiting it to followers or only those mentioned in the post.

How to restrict interaction options:

1. When composing a post, click on the globe icon under it.
2. Select “accounts you follow,” “only accounts you mention,” or “verified accounts” to limit who can reply.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

For added security, enable 2FA, which requires both a password and a unique code sent to your phone or generated by an app.

How to enable 2FA:

1. First, go to “settings and support” > “settings and privacy.” 
2. Then, go to “security and account access” > “security” > “two-factor authentication.”
3. Choose from authentication via text message, authentication app, or security key, and follow the prompts to set it up.

Can Twitter (X) ever be completely private?

You can make your Twitter (X) account completely private. 

However, for this to be truly effective, you also need to keep your personal data private outside of Twitter (X). 

Start by removing your information from the internet using a service like Incogni. This will help erase traces of your real identity from the web.

Now, you can work on making your Twitter (X) account truly anonymous.

Here’s a quick breakdown of your options (on top of those mentioned above):

• Stage 1: Create your account using alternative personal information.
• Stage 2: Always connect through a VPN when using the platform.
• Stage 3: Use a separate email address or a temporary burner email.
• Stage 4: Link your account to an alternate phone number or a burner service.

Check out Surfshark’s Alternative ID, which covers all of these features in one service.

FAQ