How To Make Your Twitter Account Private

You may be using your Twitter account to connect with friends, express your emotions, read some news, or get exciting updates from your favorite celebrities and influencers. Nevertheless, you should remember that when you tweet, you’re announcing it to the whole world. Just one terrible joke and you might go viral overnight. This is because your Twitter account is set to public by default. However, you can always choose to keep it private.

In the following article, we will share the benefits of keeping your Twitter account private and how to make your Twitter account private. So, if you want to maximize that option and maintain privacy while enjoying what Twitter can offer, then keep reading!

Benefits of Keeping Your Twitter Account Private

While many people want to gain more followers, get famous on social media, or build more connections, especially if they are doing business, others would want to choose a more private life on social media. You may not acquire as many followers as before, but keeping your Twitter account private helps ensure that you’re only connecting with the people you know. You are in control of who can only see your tweets.

Also, making your Twitter private keeps you away from fake users and scam artists. Although Twitter has exerted efforts to prevent and mitigate the number of these users, there’s no guarantee that all Twitter accounts out there are legitimate. Setting your Twitter to private gives you that added layer of protection.

Another benefit of choosing your Twitter to be private is peace of mind. If you are going through difficult times and want to have a safe online space where you can express your thoughts, without too many people judging you, keeping your account private is a great idea. Besides, a private Twitter account does not stop you from staying connected with the world; it just gives you the freedom to choose who you want to connect with.

How To Make Your Twitter Account Private

Making your Twitter account private only takes a few clicks. Simply follow the steps below:

Desktop

1. Visit twitter.com and enter your login details.
2. On the sidebar on the left, click on More. You will then see a drop-down menu.
3. Choose Settings and privacy.
4. From the Your Account section, choose Account Information.
5. Click on Protected Tweets, which appears as the fifth choice on the list.
6. To make your Twitter account private, check the box beside the option Protect Your Tweets.

Mobile Device

1. Open the Twitter application on your mobile device, and then provide your login information.
2. Tap your profile photo found on the upper left part of the screen.
3. Choose Settings and Privacy.
4. Click Privacy and Safety.
5. Toggle on the Protect Your Tweets option. For some mobile devices, you can check the box next to it.

What It Means To Have Protected Tweets

Once you’ve successfully made your Twitter private, your tweets will not be seen by the public anymore. Only those who already followed you would have a chance to see the tweets. Also, people who wish to follow you would need to send a request, and you can manually approve or reject it.

Your tweets will no longer show up on Google searches. Instead, they can only be found on Twitter searches performed by your followers. Your tweets when your account was still public will now be set in private too. So, only your followers can see or search those tweets.

Given that your account is already private, your replies to an account that does not follow you will not be seen — regardless if it’s a public account. For instance, if you reply to the tweet of your favorite celebrity, they can’t read it.

However, according to Twitter, some people can still take a screenshot of your tweets. So, there’s still a possibility that it can be shared with the public. It may not be foolproof, but protecting your tweets helps you avoid impersonators or con artists.

Unprotecting Your Twitter Account

Although your Twitter account has been set in private, you can also choose to make it public again. Just follow the given steps above, but this time, uncheck the box or the slider besides Protect Your Tweets. However, note that if you pick this option, the protected tweets before will now be available to the public.

Also, before making your account public again, review pending follower requests because they won’t be automatically accepted. Otherwise, these accounts would have to follow you again.

Protect Your Twitter Account With Social Catfish

While your Twitter account is public by default, you have the option to make it private and manage who is only allowed to follow you and see your tweets. Simply note how to make your Twitter account private, as we have shared above. If you encounter suspicious accounts, take advantage of the reverse platform at Social Catfish to quickly find out their identity!