While businesses and celebrities often make use of their Twitter accounts to promote their products and projects, respectively, the social media platform, for an average user, is more about sharing and reading news that matters to us and affects our daily lives.
While most people would not care about who sends them a message on something they post, there are others who would prefer keeping their random observations and thoughts private.
Thankfully, you can do so by making your Twitter account private.
With the help of a private Twitter account, you will be able to upload posts that can only be viewed by your followers; these followers are profiles that you have manually approved.
Additionally, it also means that any individual who is not following you on Twitter will not be able to view your tweets or your feed.
So, how to make Twitter account private? The process to learn how to do so is very simple and quick.
In fact, it is very similar to how you would make your profile private in other social media apps. In this article, we will learn how to make Twitter account private.
How To Create A Private Twitter Account?
If you have a public Twitter profile, you can choose to change it to a private profile.
The only way to do this is to head over to the Privacy And Safety option. Once your Twitter account becomes private, only your followers will be able to view your tweets.
To do so, they will have to follow you and you will have to accept or reject each follower manually.
While you may learn how to make Twitter account private, you need to know other aspects as well. For instance, it will have a major consequence on your growth.
In such cases, it might be easier to simply remove a follower; if you want to learn, you can click on this link.
However, if you want to create a private Twitter profile, hide your tweets, and do not mind losing some potential customers, you can read more on how to make Twitter account private.
How to Make Twitter Account Private via Laptop or Desktop Computer
Whether you use a Windows computer or a Mac device, this process works exactly the same way.
Changing your Twitter profile from public to private should not take more than five minutes of your time. While you are at it, it is also suggested that you check all the privacy options.
Once done, you simply need to follow the steps mentioned below:
- Head over to the official Twitter website on your web browser and log in to your account.
- Scroll towards the left side of the screen and tap on the Notifications option (Bell icon). Next, scroll to the top-right corner of the screen and click on the Gear icon. This will redirect you to the Settings page.
- Tap on the ‘Privacy and Safety’ tab, which is on the right of your username. Here, you will find all the available options.
- Tap on the ‘Protect your Tweets’ option. This will open a pop-up window where you will have to confirm the action to convert your public Twitter profile to a private one.
- Finally, you just need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘Protect’ option. To confirm the action, you will have to provide your password.
Once the changes have been confirmed, you will be able to modify whether members can tag you; additionally, you will also be able to write a new password.
From now on, your tweets will only be visible to your followers.
How to Make Twitter Account Private via The Twitter Mobile App
Changing your public Twitter profile to a private one can also be done on your Twitter mobile application, no matter whether you use an Android phone or an iOS device.
The steps for learning how to make Twitter account private on the Twitter mobile app remain nearly the same.
Now, let us learn how you can do so:
- Tap on the Twitter mobile app and log in to your account.
- Scroll to the top-left corner of the screen and tap on your profile picture.
- From the drop-down option next to your login, tap on the Settings and Privacy option.
- Here, you need to click on the Audience and Tagging option.
- Select the Protect my Tweets option and adjust the slider until it turns green. The green color indicates that the feature is now activated and your tweets are protected.
Additionally, you can also learn how to turn off sensitive content for your Twitter account here.
What Happens After Your Twitter Profile Becomes Private?
You need to ensure that you actually want to change your public Twitter profile to a private one. Once you get this done, you will be able to keep your tweets private and hidden from the public eye.
Additionally, users will now have to send a follow request to follow your Twitter profile; you will have to manually accept or reject these requests.
Once the follower is following your private Twitter profile, he/she will be able to see and view all your posts and tweets.
Even if these followers retweet your tweets, they will only be viewed by people who have followed your private Twitter account.
Additionally, only the searches that are done on Twitter by the approved followers will show the results; this happens because tweets from a private profile are not visible in Google Search as well.
Once you have made your Twitter account private, your profile will only display your bio info, profile photo, and your name.
Any @replies will not be seen by anyone unless they follow your profile and you accept their request.
For example, if you reply back to a celebrity, they will not be able to view your reply since they are not following your private Twitter profile.
Every previous tweet that you have posted when you have a public Twitter account will now be hidden and will only be searchable or visible to approved followers.
What Should You Do If Your Protected Tweets Are Sill Showing Up In Search Results?
As mentioned previously, your Protected Tweets will only be visible to you and the approved list of followers. They cannot be seen by others.
However, if you unprotect your tweets, they will again become public and can be read by everyone.
Of course, you may see your Protected Tweets on the search results. This happens because your tweets have ended up on a different platform.
Since Twitter does not have the capacity to remove content from other web pages, your tweets will be visible in the search results.
Additionally, Twitter has also acknowledged that your tweets can be screenshotted and shared publicly on the platform.
However, making your Twitter account private is considered the best choice if you do not want random people to comment and/or view your tweets.
How To Review And Accept/Reject A Follow Request On Your Private Twitter Profile?
As mentioned previously, you will now have to approve or reject new followers manually after you convert your public account into a private Twitter profile.
All the requests can be seen on the notification tab. Even if you miss them, the list can still be seen on the Pending Follower Request section.
Let us learn how you can do so:
- For laptop and computer users, you will have to click on the three dots. Mobile app users need to tap on their Profile Photo.
- Here, you will find the Follower Request. Tap on this option.
- On the next page, you will see the New Follower Requests that you can approve or reject based on your preferences.
One of the best things about this feature is that you can leave the requests pending for as long as you would like.
One drawback here is that you will have to manually accept or reject these follower requests; there are no apps or programs that can help you get this done.
Unprotect Your Tweets – How To Do It?
If you want to ‘Unprotect your Tweets’, all you need to do is follow the steps mentioned above.
However, the difference here is that you will have to uncheck the box that reads Protect your Tweets.
Once done, all the tweets that were previously protected will be made available to the public and all people (including non-followers) will be able to interact with them.
Hence, if you have accidentally tweeted some personal information, it is recommended that you delete them immediately.
It is important that you check your current follower requests before you decide you make your Twitter profile public.
All the pending requests will not get approved. In fact, they may have to send a follow request again.
What Else Can You Do On The Twitter Privacy And Safety Tab?
On this particular tab, you will be able to make changes to a wider aspect of your Twitter profile like:
- Controlling Twitter tags
- Not tracking your activity on Android and iOS Twitter apps
- Account information
- Controlling the profiles you find on the Twitter search bar
Final Thoughts
With the help of the steps mentioned above, you should be able to convert your public Twitter profile into a private one very easily.
This feature is quite amazing, particularly for people who do not want their private lives viewed by random people.
If you know any other tips related to this topic, let us know in the comment section.
FAQs
Here are some common FAQs related to learning how to make Twitter account private:
Can You Be An Anonymous Twitter User?
Yes, you do have the choice to keep your identity anonymous and hidden.
All you need to do is ensure that your username is not recognizable, your Twitter profile is public, and you maintain a very low profile.
Overall, it will depend on how anonymous you can be when you are using Twitter.
What Does The Lock Icon Signify?
You may have noticed a Lock icon when your profile becomes private.
This icon signifies that your account is protected and your tweets are private.
This can be done via the Protect my Tweets setting option. However, you will also require your password to confirm the changes.
