- Why your privacy settings need checking
- Finding the privacy and safety menu
- Deciding whether to protect your posts
- Controlling who can tag and mention you
- Turning off location information
- Managing direct messages
- Reviewing data sharing and ads settings
- Checking your discoverability settings
- A quick routine to keep on top of it
- Frequently asked questions
Go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety on X (formerly Twitter). Review your audience and tagging settings, protect your posts if you want approval over followers, turn off location sharing, limit who can message you, and check what data is used for ads. Do this every few months, not just once.
Why your privacy settings need checking
Most people set up X (formerly Twitter) once and never go back. New features get added, defaults get reset after updates, and settings you turned off can quietly turn back on. I check mine every few months because I have seen this happen more than once.
If you use X for business, this matters even more. You are often sharing opinions, links, and sometimes personal updates. Getting the settings wrong can mean more unwanted messages, more data shared than you realise, or posts reaching people you never intended.
This guide walks through the settings that matter, not every single toggle in the menu. I will tell you plainly where X does not give you an option, rather than pretending there is a workaround.
Finding the privacy and safety menu
Start on the X app or website. Tap your profile icon, then go to Settings and privacy. From there, select Privacy and safety. This is the main hub for everything below.
On mobile, the layout shifts slightly depending on whether you are on iOS, Android, or using the browser version. The labels are the same, so just look for Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety.
- Open the app or website and log in
- Tap or click your profile icon
- Select Settings and privacy
- Choose Privacy and safety
Deciding whether to protect your posts
Protecting your posts means only approved followers can see what you share. New followers need your approval before they see your content or follow you.
This is a big decision. If you use X to build an audience or promote your work, protecting your posts limits your reach. People cannot quote or retweet your protected content, and it will not show up in public search.
If privacy matters more to you than reach, go to Audience and tagging within Privacy and safety, then switch on Protect your posts. You can turn it off again at any point, but remember that anything shared while your account was public may already be out there.
Controlling who can tag and mention you
Under Audience and tagging, you will find settings for who can tag you in photos. You can choose everyone, only people you follow, or no one at all.
I would not set this to no one if you rely on X for networking, since being tagged often brings useful visibility. But if you are getting tagged in content you do not want associated with you, switching this to people you follow is a reasonable middle ground.
Turning off location information
X can attach location data to your posts if you let it. Go to Privacy and safety, then Location information. Here you can switch off precise location sharing for your posts.
I recommend turning this off unless you have a specific reason to share your location, such as covering an event. Once a post with location data is shared, you cannot fully remove the trail, so it is worth getting this right before you post rather than after.
Managing direct messages
Direct messages are one of the most common sources of unwanted contact on X. Under Privacy and safety, look for Direct Messages settings.
You can choose whether to allow message requests from everyone or restrict them. There is also an option to filter low quality messages, which X attempts to detect automatically using its own systems.
If you are getting spam or unwanted messages regularly, restricting who can message you first is the quickest fix. You will still see message requests, but they will sit separately until you approve them.
Reviewing data sharing and ads settings
X uses your activity to personalise ads and content. Under Privacy and safety, go to Data sharing and off-X activity, then Ads preferences.
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Here you can turn off personalised ads based on your activity on other websites and apps. You can also review and adjust what inferred interests X has assigned to your account, and remove ones that are wrong or that you do not want kept.
This will not stop ads appearing altogether. X plainly states that you will still see ads, just less tailored ones, if you turn personalisation off.
Checking your discoverability settings
Discoverability settings control whether people can find your account using your email address or phone number. These sit under Privacy and safety as well, usually labelled Discoverability and contacts.
If you have ever given X your phone number or email for account recovery, this setting decides whether that information can be used by others to find your profile. I would switch both off unless you specifically want to be easy to find that way.
It is worth checking this one more than most, because it often gets missed during initial account setup and stays on by default for a long time.
A quick routine to keep on top of it
Settings change, and so do your own needs. I suggest a short check every few months rather than a one-off fix.
Go through Audience and tagging, Location information, Direct Messages, Data sharing, and Discoverability in that order. It takes about ten minutes and catches anything that has reset or anything new that has been added since your last check.
If something looks unfamiliar or you are not sure what a setting does, leave it as it is rather than guessing. You can always look it up before changing something you might regret.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stop all ads on X by changing privacy settings?
No. Turning off personalised ads in Data sharing and ads preferences reduces how tailored the ads are, but X plainly states you will still see adverts. There is no setting that removes ads entirely.
Will protecting my posts hide my past tweets too?
Yes, once your posts are protected, past and future posts are only visible to approved followers. However, anything already shared publicly before you protected your account may have been saved or shared elsewhere already.
How do I stop strangers messaging me on X?
Go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety, then Direct Messages. Restrict who can send you message requests and switch on filtering for low quality messages to cut down on spam.
Does turning off location sharing remove it from old posts?
No. Turning off location information in your settings only stops new posts from including location data. Old posts that already have location attached will keep that information unless you delete those specific posts.
More X and Twitter fixes: the X help guide.
