How to Secure Your X (Twitter) Account: Privacy, Safety & Deletion Guide

X (formerly Twitter) is one of the most public social media platforms. Posts are public by default, and the platform has been a frequent target for phishing, impersonation, and account takeovers. Whether you want to secure your presence or leave the platform, this guide covers every step.

Set a Strong Password

1. Go to Settings > Your Account > Change Your Password
2. Create a password at least 12 characters long
3. Use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters
4. Never reuse a password from another site

Use our Password Generator to create a strong, unique password.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication prevents unauthorized access even if your password is stolen.

1. Go to Settings > Security and Account Access > Security > Two-Factor Authentication
2. Choose your method:
   • Authentication app (recommended, free) — use Google Authenticator, Authy, or similar
   • Security key (most secure, free) — use a YubiKey or similar device
   • Text message / SMS — only available to X Premium subscribers
3. Follow the prompts to complete setup
4. Save your backup code in a secure location

Review Connected Apps and Sessions

1. Go to Settings > Security and Account Access > Apps and Sessions
2. Under Connected Apps, remove any app you no longer use or do not recognize
3. Under Sessions, review all active sessions
4. Log out of any session you do not recognize
5. Under Account Access History, check for unfamiliar logins

Lock Down Your Privacy Settings

Protect Your Posts

1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Safety > Audience and Tagging
2. Turn on Protect your posts to make your tweets visible only to approved followers
3. Uncheck Allow photo tagging or set to Only people you follow

Discoverability

1. Under Privacy and Safety > Discoverability and Contacts
2. Turn off Let others find you by your email address
3. Turn off Let others find you by your phone number

Location

1. Under Privacy and Safety > Location Information
2. Turn off Personalize based on places you've been
3. Delete any stored location data

Content You See

1. Under Privacy and Safety > Content You See
2. Review topics and interests — remove any that do not match your actual interests to reduce unwanted targeting

Secure Your Direct Messages

1. Under Privacy and Safety > Direct Messages
2. Turn off Allow message requests from everyone to restrict DMs to people you follow
3. Turn on Filter low-quality messages to catch spam
4. Enable Encrypted messages when messaging other users who have it enabled

Be cautious of DMs containing links, especially from accounts you do not know. Use our AI Scam Checker to verify suspicious links before clicking.

Limit Data Sharing and Ad Tracking

1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Safety > Data Sharing and Personalization
2. Turn off Personalize based on your inferred identity
3. Turn off Personalize ads
4. Under Inferred identity, turn off all options
5. Under Data sharing with business partners, turn off Allow additional information sharing

Download Your X Data Archive

1. Go to Settings > Your Account > Download an Archive of Your Data
2. Click Request Archive
3. Verify your identity (password and/or 2FA code)
4. X will email you when your archive is ready (usually within 24 hours)
5. Return to the same settings page and click Download Archive
6. Save the ZIP file in a secure location

The archive includes your tweets, DMs, profile information, ad data, and more.

How to Deactivate and Delete Your Account

X combines deactivation and deletion into one process. When you deactivate, X waits 30 days, then permanently deletes your account.

Before you deactivate:

• Download your data archive
• Remove X Login from any apps that use it
• Save any content you want to keep
• Update your email preferences to avoid post-deletion emails

To deactivate:

1. Go to Settings > Your Account > Deactivate Your Account
2. Read the information about what happens
3. Click Deactivate
4. Enter your password to confirm

The 30-day window:

• Your profile and tweets are immediately hidden from public view
• If you log in within 30 days, your account is fully restored
• After 30 days, the account is permanently deleted
• It may take additional time for content to disappear from search engines and X's servers

After leaving X, use our GCR Data Shield to check if your personal information remains on data broker sites. Run a scan to find and remove your data from 500+ sources.