What you can control on X right now
X (formerly Twitter) lets you control who sees your posts, who can message you, and what data the platform collects about your activity. You can make your account private so only approved followers see your tweets, turn off message requests from strangers, and limit how X uses your location and browsing data. These settings live in one place — your Settings and Privacy menu — and take less than five minutes to change.
The settings that matter most depend on what you're trying to do. If you want to keep your tweets visible only to people you know, you'll make your account private. If you're tired of unwanted messages, you can restrict who can send them. If you're concerned about tracking, you can disable personalized ads and limit data collection. Each setting works independently, so you can tighten some and leave others loose.
Key Takeaways
- You can make your account private so only your approved followers see your tweets, and you control who follows you.
- Message settings let you block direct messages from people you don't follow, or turn them off entirely.
- Privacy controls for ads and data collection are in a separate section called "Data and Privacy" within your settings.
- Changes take effect immediately — you don't need to log out or restart the app for them to work.
How to make your account private
Open X on your phone or computer and tap your profile picture in the top left corner (phone) or top right (computer). Select "Settings and Privacy," then "Privacy and Safety." Look for the option that says "Private Account" or "Protect your posts" — the exact wording depends on whether you're on the app or web version. Toggle it on.
Once your account is private, anyone who wants to follow you has to send a follow request, and you have to approve it. Your old tweets stay visible to people who already followed you, but new tweets only show to approved followers. If someone you don't know sends a follow request, you can ignore it or block them. You can also go back to public at any time by toggling the same switch off.
Controlling who can message you
In the same "Privacy and Safety" section, scroll down until you find "Direct Messages" or "Message Requests." You'll see options like "Everyone," "People you follow," or "No one." Choose "People you follow" if you want to hear from followers only, or "No one" if you want to turn off messages entirely. If you choose "No one," people can still send you message requests, but they won't land in your main inbox.
You can also block specific people from messaging you without blocking them entirely. Go to their profile, tap the three dots, and select "Block messages" or similar language. They won't know you blocked their messages — they'll just see that their message didn't go through. If you change your mind, you can unblock them the same way.
Limiting data collection and personalized ads
X collects data about what you click, what you search for, and what websites you visit outside X. This data trains the algorithm that decides what shows up in your feed and powers the ads you see. To limit this, go to "Settings and Privacy," then find "Data and Privacy" or "Personalization and Data." You'll see toggles for "Allow additional information sharing" and "Personalized ads."
Turn off "Personalized ads" if you don't want X to use your activity to target ads to you. Turn off "Allow additional information sharing" if you don't want X to share your data with partners or use it to build a profile of your interests. These changes mean you'll still see ads, but they'll be based on what you're looking at right now rather than your history. Some users find this makes their feed feel less creepy; others notice more irrelevant ads.
Hiding your location and activity status
X can track your location if you've given the app permission to access it. Go to "Settings and Privacy," then "Privacy and Safety," and look for "Location Information" or "Precise Location." Toggle it off to stop X from collecting your location data. This won't affect your ability to post from a location or tag tweets with a place — it just stops X from tracking where you are.
You can also hide your activity status so people can't see when you were last online. In the same section, find "Allow others to see your activity status" and toggle it off. When you do, you also won't be able to see when other people were last active. This is a trade-off: you gain privacy but lose the ability to know if someone is ignoring you or just hasn't checked the app.
Managing who can tag you and find you
X lets other people tag you in photos and posts, and lets anyone search for your account by your email or phone number. To stop people from tagging you in photos without permission, go to "Privacy and Safety" and find "Photo tagging." Choose "No one" or "People you follow." To stop people from finding your account by searching your email or phone, find "Allow people to find your account by email address" and "Allow people to find your account by phone number" and toggle both off.
If someone tags you in a post you don't want associated with your account, you can untag yourself. Go to the post, tap the three dots, and select "Remove tag" or "Untag yourself." The post stays up, but your name is no longer linked to it. You can also mute or block the person who tagged you if it becomes a pattern.
What privacy settings don't do
Making your account private doesn't hide your profile picture, name, or bio from people who aren't following you — they just can't see your tweets. Turning off personalized ads doesn't stop X from collecting data about you; it just stops X from using that data to target ads. Hiding your location doesn't prevent X from seeing your location if you post from a specific place or tag a location in a tweet.
X also can't control what other people do with information you share. If you send a private message to someone, they can screenshot it or forward it. If you post something public, anyone can screenshot it or share it elsewhere. Privacy settings protect you from X's default behavior, not from the people you interact with.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I make my account private, can people still see my old tweets?
People who followed you before you went private can still see all your tweets, including old ones. New followers can only see tweets you posted after they followed you. If you want to hide old tweets from new followers, you have to delete them or make your account private before they follow you.
What happens if I turn off personalized ads?
You'll still see ads, but they'll be based on what you're looking at in the moment rather than your history. X will still collect data about your activity — it just won't use that data to target ads. You may see more ads that don't match your interests, or you may not notice much difference.
Can I block someone from seeing my tweets without blocking them entirely?
No. If you want someone to not see your tweets, you have to block them or make your account private and not approve their follow request. You can mute someone so their tweets don't show in your feed, but they can still see your public tweets.
Do I need to turn off location tracking if I never post my location?
X still collects location data even if you don't post it. Turning off location tracking stops X from knowing where you are. If you don't care about this, you can leave it on. If you do care, toggle it off in your privacy settings.
Will changing my privacy settings affect my followers or my ability to use X?
No. Changing privacy settings won't delete your followers, remove you from conversations, or break any features. You can change them back at any time. The only change your followers might notice is if you go from public to private — then they'll need approval to keep following you.