Where to Find Twitter's Privacy Settings
Twitter's privacy controls live in your account settings, not scattered across the app. Open Twitter on desktop or mobile, click or tap your profile picture in the top right corner, then select Settings and privacy. From there, choose Privacy and safety. This is the single menu where you control who sees your tweets, who can message you, and who can find your account.
On mobile, the path is identical — profile picture, Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety. The options available are the same whether you use the web version or the app, though the layout may shift slightly depending on your device.
Key Takeaways
- Your account can be set to private so only followers you approve can see your tweets, or public so anyone can view them.
- You can block direct messages from people you do not follow, or turn off message requests entirely.
- Twitter lets you control whether search engines index your profile and whether people can find you by your email or phone number.
- Muting and blocking are separate tools — muting hides someone's posts from your feed without them knowing, while blocking prevents them from following you or viewing your tweets.
- Changes take effect when ready; Twitter does not require you to save or confirm most privacy adjustments.
Making Your Account Private or Public
The most fundamental privacy choice is whether your account is public or private. A public account means anyone on Twitter or the internet can see your tweets, retweets, and replies without following you. A private account means only people you have approved as followers can see your posts.
To change this setting, go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety. Look for the option labeled Protect your posts or Private account (the exact wording varies by app version). Toggle it on to make your account private. When you do, Twitter will ask whether you want to approve your current followers or review them. If you choose to review, you can remove followers who no longer have permission to see your tweets.
Switching to private does not hide your past tweets from people who already follow you — it only controls who can follow you going forward. If you switch back to public later, your tweets remain visible to everyone.
Controlling Who Can Message You
Twitter offers three levels of control over direct messages. In Privacy and safety, find Direct messages or Message privacy. Your options are usually: allow messages from anyone, allow messages only from people you follow, or allow messages only from people you follow who you have also messaged first.
You can also toggle on Filter messages from people you do not follow. When this is on, messages from non-followers go to a separate Message requests folder instead of your main inbox. You can read them without responding, or delete them without the sender knowing.
Some users turn off message requests entirely by selecting the most restrictive option. This means only your followers can send you direct messages, and even then, you control whether you see them. These settings change when ready and do not notify anyone.
Preventing Search Engines From Indexing Your Profile
Search engines like Google can index your Twitter profile and tweets, making them appear in search results outside of Twitter itself. If you do not want this, go to Privacy and safety and look for Allow others to find you by email address or Discoverability. Uncheck the box next to Let others find your account using your email address and Let others find your account using your phone number.
To prevent search engines from indexing your profile entirely, find the option Allow search engines to index your profile and toggle it off. This tells Google and other search engines not to include your tweets in their results. Note that this does not remove tweets already indexed — it only prevents new indexing going forward.
These changes take a few hours to take full effect, since search engines do not update when ready. If your tweets are already in Google's index, you may need to use Google Search Console to request removal directly.
Using Mute and Block to Control Your Feed
Muting and blocking are two separate tools with different effects. Muting hides someone's tweets, retweets, and replies from your feed without them knowing you muted them. They can still see your tweets, follow you, and message you. Muting is useful when you want to avoid someone's content without ending the connection.
To mute someone, click the three dots on one of their tweets and select Mute @username. You can also mute entire conversations or mute specific words and hashtags so tweets containing them do not appear in your feed. Go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety, and look for Muted words, accounts, and hashtags.
Blocking is stronger. When you block someone, they cannot follow you, see your tweets, or message you. They will know they are blocked if they try to visit your profile. To block someone, click the three dots on their tweet or profile and select Block @username. You can unblock them later from the same menu.
Controlling Who Can Tag You in Photos and Tweets
Twitter lets you control whether people can tag you in photos and tweets. In Privacy and safety, find Photo tagging or Tagging. You can choose to allow tags from anyone, only from people you follow, or disable tagging entirely.
When someone tags you in a photo or tweet, the tag appears on your profile only after you approve it (if you have approval enabled). You can also remove tags after the fact by clicking the tag and selecting remove. These settings do not prevent people from mentioning your username — they only control whether they can formally tag you in media.
Hiding Your Activity Status and Read Receipts
Twitter shows when you were last active and whether you have read a direct message. If you do not want others to see this information, go to Privacy and safety and toggle off Allow others to see when you were last active and Allow others to see your read receipts.
When you turn off activity status, your followers cannot see when you last logged in. When you turn off read receipts, people who message you will not know whether you have opened their message. Both changes take effect when ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I make my account private, can people still find my old tweets?
No. When your account is private, only your approved followers can see your tweets, including old ones. However, if your account was public before, search engines may still have indexed those tweets. You will need to turn off search engine indexing separately to prevent that.
What happens to my followers if I switch from public to private?
Your current followers stay as followers, but Twitter gives you the option to review them and remove anyone you do not want. Going forward, new followers must be approved by you before they can see your tweets.
Can someone tell if I muted them?
No. Muting is invisible to the other person. They can still see your tweets, follow you, and message you. They have no way of knowing you muted them unless you tell them.
If I block someone, can they still see my tweets if they log out?
If your account is public, yes — they can view your tweets without logging in. Blocking only prevents them from interacting with you while logged in. To prevent anyone from seeing your tweets, you must make your account private.
Do privacy setting changes happen right away?
Most changes take effect when ready. Search engine indexing changes may take a few hours to propagate. If you are unsure whether a change has taken effect, log out and check your profile from another account or in an incognito window.