How to Make A Twitter Account Private

updated February 7, 2023
Reading time5 minutes
Jaqueline Corradi
Jaqueline Corradi
Content Manager

Do you know how to make a Twitter account private? If you love tweeting about your life and even use the platform as a journal, but don't want unknown people to read your tweets, the private function is perfect for you.

When you make a Twitter account private, only those who follow that profile can see what the person posts. This way, your tweets can't be shared with anyone, the retweet option will be deactivated, and you don't run the risk of having comments you wish to keep to yourself and your friends going viral. 

It's possible to enjoy Twitter, and keep up with the trends everyone is talking about on the platform, but still maintain your privacy. Having a private account, though, isn't recommended for a brand profile, for instance, because you won't be able to explore its marketing purposes. However, that can be a great option for those who are using Twitter for personal purposes.

How to Make a Twitter Account Private From Your Computer

With just a few clicks, it's possible to learn how to make a Twitter account private. You just have to follow the steps below: 

1 - Open the Twitter website in your browser, log in to your account;

2 - Click on "More";

Twitter menu, the button "more" is highlighted

3 - Click on "Settings and privacy";

Twitter menu, the "settings and privacy" button is highlighted.

4 -  Select "Privacy and Safety";

Twitter settings menu, the "Privacy and safety" option is highlighted.

5 - Click on "Audience and tagging";

Twitter privacy and safety menu, the "Audience and tagging" option is highlighted.

6 - Select the option "Protect your tweets".

Twitter Audience and Tagging menu

Once you choose to protect your tweets, your account becomes private and only your followers will see what you post. 

How to Make a Twitter Account Private From an iOS Device

If you like to use Twitter on your iPhone or iPad, then you can make a Twitter account private through the app for iOS. The steps you need to follow are similar to the ones on a desktop. 

1 - Open the Twitter app and log in to your account;

2 - Click on "Settings and Support";

Twitter menu, the setting and support option is highlighted

3 - Click on "Settings and privacy", then "Privacy and safety";

Twitter menu, the settings and privacy option is highlighted.

Twitter settings menu where the Privacy and safety option is highlighted.

4 - Select "Audience and tagging";

Twitter privacy and safety menu, the audience and tagging option is highlighted.

5 - Turn on the button "Protect your tweets". 

Twitter audience and tagging menu, the protect your tweets button is highlighted.

How to Make a Twitter Account Private From an Android Device

The Twitter app for Android works very similarly to the iOS version, so the steps are practically the same to turn your account private. 

1 - Open the Twitter app, and log in to your account;

2 - Go to settings, then select "Privacy and safety";

3 - Slide on the button "Protect your tweets" to turn on the function, and make your tweets private. 

How to Make Your  Tweets Public Again

So, you understand how to make a Twitter account private, but do you want to enable everyone to see what you post once more? Don't worry, you can deactivate the "Protect your tweet" function at any time.

Follow the same steps explained above, but instead of turning on the "Protect your tweets", you will slide the button to turn it off. After making it, anyone who visits your profile can see what you are publishing, like, and retweet it. If you wish, you can still limit the comments. 

What Changes When You Turn The Tweets Private

When a Twitter account becomes private, the access to your tweets is restricted to only the people who follow you. If anyone wants to see your tweets, they need to send a request to follow you, which you should approve.

Different from a public Twitter account where it's possible to follow the profile without any previous approval, with the private one you control who will be your follower. Besides that, not even your followers can retweet your tweets, they can answer them depending on the comment restriction you have, and press the like button. 

How to Approve New Followers On Twitter

Once your account is private on Twitter, you will need to pay attention to the following requests to accept new followers. You will receive a notification every time someone asks to follow you. So, open Twitter on your desktop or mobile device, and go to the followers request to check the pending ones and decide who you want to allow to follow you or not.

Protect Your Twitter Account

Besides knowing how to make a Twitter account private, there are some other important actions to take to protect your account. Set up the two-factor authentication, this way when you log in to Twitter from a new device, you will have to insert your password and another code, which can be sent by SMS or can be given through an authentication app. This will reduce the chances of getting your account hacked.

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