About Public and Protected Tweets

Public or protected?

When you sign up for Twitter, you have the option of keeping your Tweets public (the default account setting) or protecting your Tweets.

• Accounts with public Tweets have profile pages that are visible to everyone.
• Accounts with protected Tweets require manual approval of each and every person who may view that account's Tweets. Only approved followers can view Tweets made on these accounts.

Why Would I Protect My Tweets?

If the idea of strangers reading your Twitter updates makes you feel a little weird, try protecting your Tweets at first. You can always change your mind later. When you protect your Tweets, the following restrictions are put in place:

• People will have to request to follow you and each follow request will need approval
• Your Tweets will only be visible to users you've approved, meaning that other users will not be able to retweet your Tweets
• Protected Tweets will not appear in Twitter search
• @replies you send to people who aren't following you will not be seen by those users (because you have not given them permission to see your Tweets)
• You cannot share permanent links to your Tweets with anyone other than your approved followers
• Please note: t.co links, even those shared via DM, are neither private nor public. Anyone with the link will be able to view the content.

How Do I Protect My Tweets?

You can protect your Tweets in your account settings page, following these steps:

1. Log in to your Twitter account
2. Visit your Account Settings Page by selecting Settings from the drop-down menu on the right hand side of your screen.
3. Scroll down and check the box next to Protect my Tweets
4. Save your changes

When you navigate to your home page after protecting your Tweets, you'll see a notice reminding you that your Tweets are now protected. Accounts with protected Tweets can always go public by un-checking the box in account settings.

Having Trouble?

Check out our Troubleshooting Article for more information and troubleshooting tips.