Where to find X's privacy controls

X's privacy settings live in one place: the Settings and Privacy menu. Open X in a web browser or the mobile app, tap or click your profile picture in the top right corner, then select "Settings and Privacy" from the dropdown. From there, you'll see a left sidebar with options including "Privacy and Safety" — this is where almost every control you need sits.

The mobile app and web version show the same settings, though the layout differs slightly. On mobile, you may need to scroll down to see all options. On the web, everything appears in the left column. Either way, once you're in "Privacy and Safety," you're in the right place.

Key Takeaways

  • X's privacy controls are in Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety, and the most important ones are who can message you and who can see your location data.
  • You can make your account private so only approved followers see your posts, or keep it public but limit who can find you through search and recommendations.
  • Turning off data collection for personalization stops X from using your activity to build a profile for advertisers, though you will still see ads.
  • X stores your phone number and email address by default; you can remove the phone number entirely or make it visible only to you.
  • Location data, search history, and ad preferences can all be turned off or deleted separately from the Privacy and Safety menu.

Making your account private versus public

X gives you two paths: a fully private account where only people you approve can follow you and see your posts, or a public account where anyone can see what you post but you control who can contact you. Choose "Private Account" in the Privacy and Safety menu if you want to vet every follower. This is the strongest privacy setting X offers.

If you keep your account public but want to limit discovery, look for "Allow others to find you by email or phone number" and turn it off. This stops X from suggesting your account to people who have your email or phone in their contacts. You can also turn off "Allow others to tag you in photos" to prevent your face appearing in other people's posts without your knowledge.

Controlling who can message you and see your location

Under "Direct Messages," you'll find "Allow message requests from anyone" and "Filter low-quality messages." By default, anyone can send you a message. If you turn off "Allow message requests from anyone," only people you follow can message you directly — everyone else lands in a separate requests folder you can ignore. This is the single most effective way to reduce unwanted contact on X.

For location, find "Precise location" in the Privacy and Safety menu. X can access your device's GPS to tag posts with your exact location. Turn this off entirely unless you specifically want to share where you are. Even if you turn off precise location, X still infers your general location from your IP address — you cannot stop that, but you can prevent the more detailed GPS data from being attached to your posts.

Turning off data collection for ads and recommendations

X collects data about what you click, like, retweet, and search for, then uses that to build a profile of your interests. This profile is sold to advertisers and used to show you targeted ads. To stop this, find "Personalization and data" in Privacy and Safety and turn off "Allow use of your Tweets and interactions for personalization and ads." You will still see ads on X, but they will be based on what you're looking at in the moment rather than a long-term profile of your behavior.

Below that, you'll see "Inferred identity" — X guesses things about you based on your activity, like your age range, gender, and interests. Turn this off to prevent X from building those inferences. You can also turn off "Interest categories" to stop X from assigning you to interest groups used for ad targeting.

Managing your phone number and email address

X asks for your phone number during signup and stores it by default. Find "Your phone number" in Privacy and Safety to see what X has on file. You have three choices: delete it entirely, keep it but make it visible only to you, or leave it as is. If you delete it, X can no longer use it to suggest your account to people or to verify your identity if you lose access to your account — so deletion is more private but slightly riskier if you forget your password.

Your email address works the same way. You can make it visible only to you, which stops X from using it for discovery but keeps it on file for account recovery. Deleting your email entirely is not an option because X needs at least one way to contact you if there's a problem with your account.

Clearing your search history and ad preferences

X keeps a record of everything you search for on the platform. In Privacy and Safety, find "Search history" and you'll see a button to clear it. This deletes the record but does not change what X has already learned about your interests — it only removes the searchable log. You can also turn off "Save your search history" to prevent X from recording future searches, though this is less common than clearing the history once.

Under "Ads preferences," you can see the interest categories and demographics X has assigned to you. You can remove yourself from categories you don't want — for example, if X thinks you're interested in a product you're not, you can delete that category. This doesn't stop ads, but it makes them less targeted to an inaccurate profile.

What privacy settings do not do

Changing your privacy settings on X does not remove information you've already posted. If you tweeted your location, your email, or personal details, changing the privacy settings now won't delete those old posts — you have to delete them manually. Similarly, if someone else posted information about you, your privacy settings don't control that.

Privacy settings also don't stop X from collecting data about you in the background. Even with personalization turned off, X still knows what you click and when you're online. It just doesn't use that data to build an advertiser profile. If you want to prevent X from collecting that data at all, you would need to stop using X or use a VPN, which is outside what the privacy menu offers.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I make my account private, can people still find my old public posts?

No. When you switch to a private account, X removes your posts from public search and recommendations. People who already follow you can still see everything, but new people cannot find your posts unless you approve them as followers first. This change takes effect when ready.

Does turning off personalization stop X from showing me ads?

No, you will still see ads. Turning off personalization just means the ads are not based on a profile of your interests — they're based on what you're looking at right now or general categories. You cannot remove ads from X without paying for X Premium.

Can I delete my phone number without losing my account?

Yes, but you should have a working email address on file first. If you delete your phone number and later forget your password, X will send a recovery link to your email. If you delete both your phone and email, you could lose access to your account permanently.

What happens to my data if I turn off location sharing?

X stops attaching GPS coordinates to new posts you make. It does not delete location data from posts you've already made — you have to delete those posts manually. X also still knows your general location from your IP address, which you cannot turn off.

If I block someone, can they still see my public posts?

No. When you block someone, they cannot see your profile, your posts, or your follower list, even if your account is public. They also cannot message you or see you in search results. Blocking is stronger than making your account private.