How to Boost Your Privacy on Twitter: Essential Strategies You Need to Know

zubair sagheer July 3, 2023

Twitter is one of the most popular and influential social media platforms in the world. With over 300 million active users, Twitter allows you to connect with people from different backgrounds, interests, and opinions. You can also use Twitter to stay updated on the latest news, trends, and events.

However, Twitter also comes with some privacy risks and challenges. As a public platform, Twitter exposes your personal information, opinions, and activities to a wide audience. You may also encounter unwanted messages, spam, harassment, or abuse from other users. Moreover, Twitter collects and shares your data with third-party partners and advertisers for various purposes. If you value your privacy and security on Twitter, you need to take some proactive steps to protect yourself and your account. In this article, we will show you how to boost your privacy on Twitter and share some essential strategies you need to know.

Strategy 1: Secure Your Account

The first strategy to boost your privacy on Twitter is to secure your account. This means choosing a strong and unique password, enabling two-factor authentication, and avoiding password reuse.

Password: Your password is the key to your account. Choose a password that is long, complex, and random. Avoid using common words, personal information, or easily guessable combinations. The password should be a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. You can use a password manager to generate and store your passwords securely.
Two-Factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring a verification code in addition to your password during login. It helps prevent unauthorized access even if someone obtains your password. You can enable 2FA on Twitter by going to Settings and Privacy > Account > Security > Two-factor authentication. You can choose to receive the verification code via text message, authenticator app, or security key.
Password Reuse: Password reuse is a common practice that can compromise your security. If you use the same password for multiple online services, a breach in one account can lead to breaches in others. To avoid this risk, use a different password for each account and change them regularly.

Strategy 2: Control Your Visibility

The second strategy to boost your privacy on Twitter is to control your visibility. This means adjusting your discoverability settings, making your account private, and limiting who can tag you or see your location.

Discoverability: By default, Twitter allows other users to find you by your email address or phone number. This can expose you to unwanted contacts or spam. To prevent this, you can adjust your discoverability settings by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Discoverability and Contacts. You can uncheck the boxes that allow others to find you by your email or phone number.
Private Account: By default, Twitter makes your tweets public and visible to anyone on the platform or the web. This can expose you to unwanted attention or criticism. To prevent this, you can make your account private by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Audience and Tagging > Protect your Tweets. This will allow only your approved followers to see your tweets and prevent them from being retweeted or searched.
Make Likes Private on Twitter: By making your likes private, you can limit the visibility of your activity on the platform, which can help protect your online privacy. This means that other users will not be able to see which tweets you have liked unless they have been tagged in those tweets. Additionally, making your likes private can help prevent others from forming judgments or assumptions about your interests or beliefs based on the tweets you have liked. This can be particularly important if you use Twitter for personal reasons or have sensitive opinions or beliefs that you do not want to be publicly associated with. So, it would be a great idea to learn how to make likes private on Twitter.
Tagging and Location: By default, Twitter allows anyone to tag you in photos or mention you in tweets. This can expose you to unwanted interactions or harassment. To prevent this, you can limit who can tag you by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Audience and Tagging > Photo Tagging. You can choose to allow only people you follow to tag you or disable tagging altogether. Similarly, you can limit who can see your location by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Location Information. You can uncheck the box that allows adding a location to your tweets.

Strategy 3: Manage Your Data

The third strategy to boost your privacy on Twitter is to manage your data. This means disabling personalized ads, opting out of tracking off-Twitter activity, opting out of sharing data with third-party partners, and deleting old tweets.

Clearing Cache: Clearing cache on Twitter removes temporary data and files from your device, like login credentials, search history, and website data. This helps protect your privacy by preventing unauthorized access to your account and improves the app’s performance. It doesn’t delete your tweets or other data associated with your account. So, if you want to increase your account security, you should know how to clear cache on Twitter.
Personalized Ads: By default, Twitter shows you personalized ads based on your interests, preferences, and behavior on the platform or the web. This can compromise your privacy and expose you to unwanted or irrelevant ads. To prevent this, you can disable personalized ads by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Ad Preferences > Personalization and Data. You can uncheck the box that allows all personalization and data settings or customize them individually.
Off-Twitter Activity: By default, Twitter tracks your activity on other websites and apps that integrate with Twitter, such as embedded tweets or share buttons. This can compromise your privacy and expose you to more personalized ads. To prevent this, you can opt out of tracking off-Twitter activity by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Off-Twitter Activity. You can click on Manage Your Off-Twitter Activity and turn off the Allow additional information sharing with business partners setting.
Data Sharing: By default, Twitter shares some of your data with third-party partners, such as analytics or measurement companies. This can compromise your privacy and expose you to more personalized ads. To prevent this, you can opt out of data sharing by going to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Ad Preferences > Personalization and Data. You can uncheck the box that allows sharing additional information with business partners or customize it individually.
Old Tweets: By default, Twitter keeps your tweets on the platform indefinitely, unless you delete them manually. This can compromise your privacy and expose you to unwanted scrutiny or consequences. To prevent this, you can delete your old tweets by using third-party tools, such as TweetDelete or TweetEraser. These tools allow you to delete your tweets in bulk based on criteria such as date, keyword, or hashtag.

Conclusion

Twitter is a great platform to connect with others and stay informed, but it also poses some privacy risks and challenges. By following the strategies in this article, you can boost your privacy on Twitter and protect yourself and your account. Remember to review your settings regularly and stay updated on the latest privacy practices and policies on Twitter.