X (Twitter) offers a multitude of configuration options. It‘s not always easy to keep track of all the various settings offered and to select the best settings for your purposes. Our checklist is meant to assist you to protect your account and all your published information in the best possible way.
We have tried to draw up as universally applicable a set of instructions for private users as possible. Nevertheless, the individual configuration options and settings may differ in specific cases. This checklist refers to the X settings available as at 2 February 2024 as displayed in a desktop computer browser.
As a rule, the settings described here are automatically adopted in the X app. Depending on your smartphone and operating system though, there may be some additional settings in the app which are not discussed here.
To display your X account settings, click to «More» then to «Settings and privacy».
Your Account - Account information
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Username | Your X username |
| Phone | Depending on your needs |
| Use a free address without any indication of your identity (e.g. ferrari397@gmail.com). | |
| Verified | Depending on your needs |
| Protected posts | Depending on your needs |
| Account creation | Your account creation |
| Country | Your country |
| Languages | Your languages |
| Gender | Your gender |
| Birth date | Your birth date |
| Age | Your age |
| Automation | Depending on your needs |
Your Account - Change your password
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Change your password | Manage your passwords outside of X, for instance using a password manager. |
Your Account - Download an archive of your data
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| X data | Depending on your needs, you can download a file with all your posts so far here. |
Your Account - Deactivate your account
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Deactivate account | Depending on your needs |
Monetization
Depending on your needs
Premium
Depending on your needs
Creator Subscriptions
Depending on your needs
Security and account access - Security
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Two-factor authentication | Activate the desired method. |
| ID verification | Activate (with costs) |
| Additional password protection | Activate |
Security and account access - Apps and sessions
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Apps and sessions | Here you can view the times you have logged into your account, and which apps and devices are linked to your account. |
Security and account access - Connected accounts
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Connected accounts | Here you can view the accounts you have connected to X. |
Security and account access - Delegate
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Allow others to invite you to their account | Depending on your needs |
| Only allow people you follow to invite you | Activate |
Privacy and safety - Audience, media and tagging
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Protect your posts | Activate |
| Photo tagging | Select «Only people you follow can tag you». |
Privacy and safety - Your posts
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Mark media you post as having material that may be sensitive | Activate |
| Add location information to your posts | Don‘t activate |
Privacy and safety - Content you see
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Display media that may contain sensitive content | Don‘t activate |
Privacy and safety - Mute and block
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Mute and block | Depending on your needs |
Privacy and safety - Direct Messages
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Allow message requests from | Verified users |
| Filter low-quality messages | Activate |
| Show read receipts | Don‘t activate |
Privacy and safety - Spaces
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Allow followers to see which Spaces you’re listening to | Don‘t activate |
Privacy and safety - Discoverability and contacts
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Let people who have your email address find you on X | Depending on your needs |
| Let people who have your phone number find you on X | Depending on your needs |
| Contacts | Depending on your needs |
Privacy and safety - Ads preferences
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Personalized ads | Don‘t activate |
| Interests | Depending on your needs |
| Your advertiser list | Depending on your needs |
Privacy and safety - Cookie preferences
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Accept all cookies | Don‘t activate |
| Refuse non-essential cookies | Activate |
Privacy and safety - Inferred identity
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Personalize based on your inferred identity | Don‘t activate |
Privacy and safety - Data sharing with business partners
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Allow additional information sharing with business partners | Don‘t activate |
Privacy and safety - Location information
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Personalize based on places you’ve been | Don‘t activate |
| See places you’ve been | Information about your location attached to posts |
| Add location information to your posts | Don‘t activate |
| Explore settings | Depending on your needs |
Notifications - Filters
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Quality filter | Activate |
| Muted notifications | Depending on your needs |
Notifications - Preferences
| Category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|
| Push notifications | Depending on your needs |
| Email notifications | Depending on your needs |
Accessibility, display and languages
Depending on your needs
