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Understanding X Privacy Settings: What They Control

X (formerly Twitter) offers privacy settings that let you manage who sees your posts, who can contact you, and what information X collects about your activity. These settings exist to give you control over your online presence on the platform. A privacy guide explains what each setting does and why you might want to adjust it based on your personal preferences.

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The main privacy controls on X include options for making your account public or private, controlling who can message you, managing tag notifications, and deciding whether your location data gets stored. Each setting serves a different purpose. For example, a public account means anyone on X can see your posts without following you, while a private account requires people to request to follow you before they see your tweets.

Understanding these controls matters because privacy settings affect your daily experience on the platform. When you know how they work, you can make choices that match your comfort level. Some people want maximum privacy and restrict who can contact them. Others prefer a more open approach where they engage with a wider audience. Neither choice is right or wrong—it depends on how you want to use X.

According to X's transparency reports, the platform collects data on user activity including clicks, views, and search queries. This information helps X show you relevant content and ads. However, you have settings that let you limit what data X uses for certain purposes. For instance, you can control whether X uses your browsing activity across other websites to personalize your ads.

A comprehensive privacy guide walks through where each setting is located and what happens when you change it. This matters because privacy settings sometimes hide in unexpected menu locations. The guide points you toward the actual controls so you don't waste time searching for features that are difficult to find.

Practical Takeaway: Before adjusting any settings, think about what level of privacy matters most to you. Do you want strangers to message you? Should your posts be visible to everyone? Write down your preferences before you start—this makes the process straightforward because you'll know exactly which settings need changing.

Public vs. Private Accounts: How Each One Works

The choice between a public and private account is one of the most important privacy decisions you'll make on X. This choice determines whether your tweets are visible to the entire internet or only to people you approve. Understanding the differences helps you pick the option that fits your needs.

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A public account means your profile and all your tweets are visible to anyone on the internet, including people not logged into X. Search engines can index your public tweets, so they may appear in Google results or other search engines. Anyone can see your follower list, who you follow, your likes, and your posts. People don't need your permission to retweet your content or see your history. This openness makes it easier to build an audience and participate in public conversations, which is why many journalists, businesses, and public figures use public accounts.

A private account works differently. Only people you approve can follow you and see your tweets. When someone requests to follow you, you get a notification and can accept or reject them. Your tweets won't appear in search results on the main internet. People who aren't following you can still send you direct messages if you've enabled that setting, but they can't see your posts. Your follower and following lists are hidden from non-followers. This setup works well for people who want to share updates only with friends and family, or those who are concerned about their safety or professional reputation.

Switching between public and private is simple and can be done anytime. If you start with a public account but later want privacy, you can change it. Your old public tweets remain visible to anyone who already saw them or bookmarked them, but new tweets will only reach your approved followers. Similarly, moving from private to public means new tweets become visible to everyone, though it doesn't erase your history.

Research from the Pew Research Center found that about 32% of X users have private accounts, while 68% keep public accounts. The choice depends on individual preferences and how people plan to use the platform. Someone using X for work networking might prefer public. Someone sharing personal moments with close friends might choose private.

Practical Takeaway: Consider your main reason for using X. If you want to reach new people, build a following, or participate in public discussions, a public account makes sense. If you want to control who sees your posts and prefer a smaller, curated audience, switch to private. You can always change this later if your needs shift.

Direct Messaging and Contact Control Settings

X's direct messaging (DM) feature lets you have private conversations with other users. However, you have several options for controlling who can message you and how those messages work. These settings protect you from unwanted contact and let you manage your inbox.

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The main DM setting lets you choose whether anyone can message you or only people you follow. If you select "Everyone," any X user can start a conversation with you, even if you don't follow them back. This is the default setting for public accounts. If you choose "Only people you follow," only accounts you've decided to follow can send you direct messages. Anyone else who tries will see a message saying they can't reach you. This significantly reduces spam and unwanted contact.

You also have the option to filter message requests. X automatically sorts messages from non-followers into a separate folder called "Message Requests." This means you still see these messages, but they don't mix with conversations from people you follow. You can review them whenever you want and decide whether to accept them or ignore them. Some people check message requests regularly to stay open to new connections. Others never look at them, effectively blocking out contact from strangers.

Another relevant setting controls whether people can find you through your email address or phone number. If you've provided these to X (which is optional), you can decide whether to make your account discoverable through them. When this is turned on, people who have your email or phone number can search for your X account directly. If you turn it off, they'll have a harder time finding you unless they know your username.

You can also control notifications for DM requests. This setting determines whether you get alerts when someone messages you. Some people want notifications for all messages, others only for followers, and some prefer no notifications at all. Adjusting this doesn't delete messages—it just controls when you get notified about them.

According to X's data, DM filtering prevents an average of millions of spam and unsolicited messages from reaching users' main inboxes each month. This shows why these controls matter for your day-to-day experience on the platform.

Practical Takeaway: If you're troubled by unwanted messages from strangers, change your DM setting to "Only people you follow." This single change eliminates most unsolicited contact while keeping your inbox open to people you've already connected with. You can always adjust this setting later if you want to be more accessible.

Data Collection and Ad Personalization Choices

X collects information about your activity on the platform and across the internet to show you relevant content and advertisements. While data collection is part of how free platforms operate, you have settings that let you control certain aspects of how your data gets used. A privacy guide explains what data X collects and what choices you have.

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X tracks several types of information. This includes what posts you view, who you follow, what you search for, what you click on, and how long you spend on the platform. X also collects information about your device, your internet address (IP address), and sometimes your location. This data helps X understand your interests so it can show you posts and ads that match those interests. The platform also uses this information to improve its features and understand how people use X overall.

One important setting controls whether X uses your activity across other websites and apps to personalize your ads. Many websites and apps have X buttons or tracking code on them. When you visit these sites, X may track that activity to build a picture of your interests outside of X itself. You can turn off this type of tracking by going to your privacy settings and disabling "Allow additional information sharing." When this is off, X can still show you personalized ads based on what you do on X itself, but it won't use your activity on other websites.

You also have control over interest-based categories. X creates categories based on your activity—for example, "interested in technology" or "interested in sports." It then uses these categories to show you relevant ads. You can view these inferred interests and remove ones that don't apply to you or that you don't want advertisers to use.

Location data is another area where you have choices.