Twitter is a great way to stay connected with friends and family, but it can also be a source of embarrassment if your account is public. Here are four ways to make your Twitter account private.

  1. Change your password. This is the most important step because if someone knows your password, they can access your account. To change your password, go to twitter.com/settings/security and enter your current password into the “New Password” field. Then, type a new password in the “New Password” field and click “Create.”
  2. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA). This security feature requires you to enter both a username and a code sent to your phone when you sign in to Twitter. If you don’t have 2FA enabled, someone who knows your username can still access your account by using the code that was sent to your phone. To enable 2FA, go to twitter.com/settings/security and click on the “Security” tab. Under “Two-Factor Authentication,” select “Enable.” Then, enter your username and code into the appropriate fields and click “Save Changes.”
  3. Use a secure browser extension like HTTPS Everywhere or SecureDrop for sending sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers over the internet without fear of interception by third parties like hackers or spies. These extensions encrypt all of the data that you send over HTTPS so that only you and the recipient can read it. To use these extensions, install them on both your computer and Twitter’s website (https://twittercorewwwi-dbusorg/secureDrop/) and then follow their instructions for setting up authentication (usually just entering an email address).
  4. Disable public tweets from appearing in search results on Google or Bing search engines by going to twitteraudittoolsand turning off “Public Tweets.” ..

By default, when you Tweet, you’re broadcasting it to the world. You could make a bad joke to your 170 followers, get on a plane, and by the time you land, find out your Tweet went viral and now you’re out of a job—that’s literally what happened to Justine Sacco. Whatever you say on Twitter is in the public record. That is, unless you make your Twitter account private.

On Twitter, Tweets are either Public or Protected. Public Tweets can be seen by everyone. Protected Tweets can only be seen by that person’s followers; they can’t even be Retweeted. If you change your account from Public to Protected, all your previous Tweets become Protected too.

How to Protect Your Twitter Account

Log in to Twitter and then head to the Settings page. You can get there by clicking on the small circular profile picture icon in the top right and then clicking Settings and Privacy.

Next, from the menu on the left, select Privacy and Safety.

Then check the checkbox that says Protect My Tweets.

Scroll down to the bottom and click Save Changes.

Finally, enter your password and click Save Changes again.

And that’s it, your account is now private.

How to Approve New Followers

With a private account, new people won’t be able to follow you. Instead, they’ll have to send you a Follow Request. When that happens, you’ll get a notification.

Click View Now to see a list of all your pending Follow Requests.

You can then Accept or Decline them as you want.

Protecting your Tweets changes the way you use Twitter. It’s no longer a public discussion forum. It’s just a place for you and your Followers. This means that if you reply to an account that isn’t following you—even if it’s a public account—they won’t see your Tweet. This is the trade off with turning your account private.