Twitter SMS commands

You can perform certain actions, like following a user or marking a friend's update as a favorite, by using the designated Twitter commands below.

When using these commands, do not append an @ symbol along with the command text. If you send these commands with an @ symbol, your commands will be read as a username and will not be executed as expected.

Example: If you want to turn on device notifications, send only "ON" and not "@ON."

Turning mobile Twitter updates OFF and ON:

• ON: turns ALL your authorized Twitter updates and notifications on.
• OFF: turns ALL phone notifications off.    
• ON [username]: turns on notifications for a specific person on your phone. Example: ON alissa
• OFF [username]: turns off notifications for a specific person on your phone. Example: OFF blaine
• FOLLOW [username]: allows you to start following a specific user, as well as receive SMS notifications. Example: FOLLOW jerry, or F jerry, for short.
• UNFOLLOW [username]: allows you to stop following a specific user.
• LEAVE [username]: this command allows you to stop receiving SMS notifications for a specific user without having to unfollow them. When you log into twitter.com from the web you will still see this user's updates in your timeline. Example: LEAVE benfu, or L benfu, for short.
• STOP, QUIT, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, or ARRET: will deactivate your account if you are an SMS-only user. If you completed the sign-up flow on the web, sending any of these commands to your Twitter short code will simply remove your phone number from your Twitter account.

Fun stuff – friends, favorites, and stats:

Use the commands below to send direct messages, mark Tweets as favorites, and more.

• @[username] + message - shows your Tweet as a reply directed at another person, and causes your Tweet to save in their mentions tab. Example: @meangrape I love that song too!

• D [username] + message - sends that person a Direct Message that goes to their device, and saves in their web archive.
  • You can also use M [username] + message to send a private message!
  • Examples: d krissy want to pick a Jamba Juice for me while you're there? or m krissy wanna pick up a Jamba Juice for me while you're there? performs the same action.

• RETWEET [username] - sends that user's latest Tweet to your followers (also known as a Retweet). Example: RETWEET Charles or  RT Charles
• SET LOCATION [place name] - updates the location field in your profile. Example: set location San Francisco
• SET BIO - edits your Bio information on your Twitter profile. Example: set bio I'm a writer in NYC!
• SET PROFILE [image] - allows you to upload a profile photo to your account, so it's viewable on the web. Just text the command along with the desired image from your phone's photo library. Note: this is only available for users whose mobile carriers support MMS.
• SET LANGUAGE [language name] - selects the language you'd like to receive notifications in. Example: set language German
• SET NAME [name here] - sets the name field on your Twitter profile. Example: set name Jane Doe
• SET URL [url here] - sets the URL field on your profile. Example: set url http://www.janedoe.com
• WHOIS [username] - retrieves the profile information for any public user on Twitter. Example: whois jack or w jack, for short.
• GET [username] - retrieves the latest Twitter update posted by that person. You can also use g [username] to get a user's latest Tweet. Examples: get goldman or g goldman.
• FAV [username] - marks that user's last Tweet as one of your favorites (reply to any update with FAV, FAVE, FAVORITE, FAVOURITE, or * to mark it as a favorite if you're receiving it in real time). Examples: fav crystal, fave crystal, favorite crystal, or *crystal
• STATS [username] - this command returns the given user's number of followers, how many people they're following, and their bio information.
• SUGGEST, SUG, S, or WTF - this command returns a list of Twitter users we think you might find interesting and would like to follow.
• HELP, INFO or AIDE - texting help, info, or aide to Twitter will bring up helpful tips.
• SUGGEST - this command returns a listing of Twitter users' accounts we think you might enjoy following.
• SET DISCOVER ON - by using this command, you opt-in to receive SMS notifications for top Tweets related to your interests. Please know that this feature is automatically enabled for all Twitter via SMS users. Note: this feature is only available in certain locations.
• SET DISCOVER OFF - turns off delivery of top tweets to your device.

A few notes on SMS commands:

• Using ON/OFF [username] from your phone only stops notifications coming to your mobile phone; you'll still collect a person's updates on the web since you're still following them.
  • Use UNFOLLOW [username] to unfollow a user via SMS.
  • Use BLOCK [username] or BLK [username] to block a user via SMS. 
  • You can also use UNBLOCK [username] or UNBLK [username]
  • Use REPORT [username] or REP [username] to report a user as spam.
• The following commands perform the same actions: FOLLOW = ON. And LEAVE = OFF.
• Following someone from a phone for the first time will also cause you to follow them on the web.
• You don't have to use ON/OFF [username] from your phone, you can also set individual notifications from a person's profile page on the web, or check your following page and manage all phone notification settings there.

Need help?

Visit our SMS Troubleshooting article for more information and tips.