All You Should Know About How to Go Private on Twitter Via Android, iPhone, and Web Browser


Written by Mehak Gupta
6 mins, 10 secs Read
Updated On September 8, 2023
how to make my Twitter private

Be it entertainment, politics, social media, or any other niche, Twitter gives you accurate knowledge. It gained a massive spotlight after billionaire Elon Musk acquired it in 2022 for 44 billion. Thereafter, the app has gone through several changes in its policies.

Arisen thereof, you may want to go private on Twitter. To help you in this regard, this article will let you know how to go private on Twitter through Android, iPhone, and web browsers. Read more and learn how to make your account private on Twitter.

Why Should You Make Twitter Account Private?

Spending time on social media feels extremely enjoyable, and it brings fun indeed. You share your thoughts, skills, and talent, connect with new people, and much more. But the dark side is that it also brings danger.

Let’s shed light upon some significant facts that may necessitate you to go private on Twitter:


  • Many unknown and unrecognized users might try to steal your personal information and use it to abuse or stalk you. It shows how badly the creepiness has been raised on Twitter.
    online harassing tweets
  • Blocking certain users may seem like the right solution at first. However, identity thefts and online bullying have become so common these days that the only option to free yourself from suspicious activity is to privatize your account.

After that, such mistrustful activities witnessed a sudden rise; hence, they are still increasing today. 

See the graph below to know exactly how tremendously illegal activities are on the rise: 

Pew Research Center Report

Nonetheless, don’t be scared of such evil deeds because moving forward, you will get to know how to private your Twitter account. 

How to Make Your Twitter Private?

make the Twitter account private

After you create an account on Twitter, you can set all of your tweets to private or public. The feature that allows you to select either of the two options is “Protect Your Tweets.”

If you choose to keep your tweets private, then any new connection trying to follow you will be either accepted or deleted, depending upon your approval. Such is the case when you have protected your Twitter account.

On the contrary, let’s say you haven’t made your Twitter account private yet. Herein, those profiles that haven’t followed you will also be getting access to your Twitter content.

The best part is that you can switch between the two profiles, i.e., private and public, anytime you feel the need to do so. You can do it via the mobile application or the Twitter website itself. 

Now, let’s see how to change your Twitter handle to a private account on different devices. 

How to Private Twitter Account on iPhone?

  • Open the “Twitter app.”
  • Tap on the “Profile” icon.
  • Select “Settings and Privacy”
    Select “Settings and Privacy”
  • Choose “Privacy and Safety”.
  • Move towards the slider next to the “Protect your Tweets” option. Slide it and see that the color will change to green once the feature is activated.
    Toggle slider of “Protect your Tweets”

    Congratulations, The green color ensures the protection of your tweets. Now onwards, your approval only can allow someone to follow you, and no random user can reach out to you without your prior permission.

How to Private Twitter Account on Android?

  • Go to the “Twitter” application.
  • Either tap on the “Menu (three lines)” or the “Profile” icon, depending upon the Android version you have. 
  • Look up the “Settings and Privacy” option and tap on it as soon as you find it.
    Select Settings and Privacy
  • Tap on the “Privacy and Safety” option.
    Tap on “Privacy and safety”
  • See the slider next to the “Protect Your Tweets” option. Toggle it to another side to activate the feature. In some other Android models, you may also find a checkbox instead of a slider. You are supposed to check if it is unchecked.
    Select Protect your tweets

How to Make A Twitter Account Private Via Web Browser?

If you are amongst one who uses Twitter through a PC or a laptop via a web browser, then follow the steps as illustrated below:

  • Move towards the left, and you will find the menu. Choose the “More (three dots)” option.
    Choose “More”
  • Click on:
  • “Settings and Support” > “Settings and Privacy”
    Click on Settings and Support  Settings and privacy
  • Go to “Privacy and Safety”.
    Click on “Privacy and safety”
  • Move towards the right side of the screen. Find the “Audience and Tagging” option and click on it.
    Click on “Audience and tagging”
  • You will find two options. Choose “Protect Your Tweets” by checking the box.
    Click on “Protect your Tweets”
  • Click on “Protect” to give your final consent.
    Click on “Protect”

Hurray, it’s all done now. Only your Twitter followers can view your tweets and all other account details.

Additional Tips to Protect Your Twitter Account

Apart from making your Twitter account private, you can also secure yourself on Twitter by updating some additional settings. To know how you can set up every such feature, go through the additional tips as illustrated below: 

Enable Two-Factor Authentication and Additional Password Protection

  • Open “Settings and Privacy” on the app or “More” if you are accessing through the desktop.
  • Select the “Security and Account Access” option.
  • Choose “Security”.
    Choose “Security and account access  Security” 

    Choose “Security and account access Security” 

  • Tap on the “Two-factor Authentication” option.
    Tap on the “Two-factor authentication” option
  • Choose any of the methods from the following:
    Choose any one of the options
  • Text message
  • Authentication app or
  • Security key
  • Simply toggle the slider to the other side to enable additional password protection that you can locate easily beside the Password Reset Protection option.

Switch off Your Tweet Location

Follow the below-illustrated steps to deactivate your Tweet location:

  • Open “Settings and privacy.”
  • Choose “Privacy and safety”.
  • Click on the “Location Information” option. Locate it under the “Data sharing and off-Twitter activity” head.
    Click on “Location Information
  • Turn off the “Add location information to your Tweets” option by unchecking it.  
    Turn off the Add location information to your Tweets option

Turn off Photo Tagging

  • Open

    “Settings and privacy” > “Privacy and safety” 

  • Choose “Photo Tagging”.
  • Lastly, tap on the “Only the people you follow can tag you” option.

Alter the Way People Can Find You

  • Choose “Privacy and safety” > “Discoverability and contacts”
    Select Privacy and safety Discoverability and contacts
  • Depending upon your requirements, select who can discover you. Otherwise, leave both boxes unchecked.
    Choose whether both boxes to uncheck or check

Monitor the Way Twitter Collects and Shares Your Data

  • Move to the “Data Sharing with Business Partners” option that is available as one of the sections under the “Privacy and Safety” head.
    Move to the Data Sharing with Business Partners option
  • Turn the feature off.
    Turn the feature off
  • Open “Off-Twitter activity” and disable all the features.
    Open Off Twitter activity

Shut Down All the Direct Messages

  • Go to “Privacy and Safety” > “Direct Messages”
    Privacy and Safety Direct Messages
  • Look up the options that read “Allow message requests from everyone”, “Filter low-quality messages” and “Show read receipts”. Uncheck the boxes beside these options.
    Uncheck the options

Filter Out Tweets Through the “Mute Words” Option

  • Select:

    “Privacy and safety” > “Mute and block”

    Select Mute and block under the privacy and safety setting
  • Choose the “Muted Words” option.
    Choose the “Muted words” option
  • Tap on the “Plus (+) sign”.
    Tap on the + sign
  • Add words or phrases that are to be muted.
    add words or phrases
  • Choose the “time duration” till which you want to mute the specific words.
  • Select “how you would like to mute”, i.e, through notification, timeline, or both.
  • Select “the people” whom you want to mute, i.e., either anybody or those whom you don’t follow.
  • Click on “Save” to complete the process. 
    Update all the changes and click on Save

Conclusion

Conclusion

Through this write-up, I guided you on how to make your account private on Twitter on different devices through illustrations. Once you turn your Twitter account private, you won’t be disturbed by any suspicious users and only those users can follow you whom you will approve. 

I also suggested some extra measures that should be implemented if you want to secure your account completely.  Hopefully, all the solutions provided above will eliminate the problem you are facing. I highly advise you to follow them to protect your account and ensure your safe existence on Twitter. 

Lastly, social media is becoming complex gradually, hence, use it wisely and be aware of several ways to stay secure on these online platforms.

FAQs

Ans: After you privatize your account, you don’t have to worry about unauthorized users as it ensures your safety on social media; however, doing this might stagnate your growth. Your reach gets limited as only your followers can connect with you.

Ans: Privatizing your Twitter account means only your followers can connect with you and nobody else. Only your prior approval decides who gets into the list of your followers. Besides, your growth is restricted.

Ans: A lock icon appears on the profile, indicating that the user has protected his/her account. If you are not a follower of such an account, you can’t see any of its tweets. A message also pops up notifying you that your account is protected.

Sources

Twitter Help Center, Protect and unprotect your tweets Nicole Levine, MFA, and A.J. Aldana,

WikiHow Make Your Twitter Account Private

Author: Mehak Gupta
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