How to Block Access to Twitter

By Randall Blackburn

Block access to your Twitter account by blocking individual users and protecting your tweets.
i Todd Warnock/Photodisc/Getty Images

You can block other users from accessing your Twitter account in a few different ways. First, you can block a Twitter user by setting an option on his profile page. You can also block and report an abusive user or suspected spam account. You can enable the “Protect Your Tweets” feature to set your account to private. When your tweets are protected, users must request and be approved by you to follow your account. Finally, you can disable the setting to allow other users to find you on Twitter by your email address.

Block User

You can block individual Twitter users from viewing your profile or seeing your tweets in their timelines. If you were following the user, or if the user was following you, the following status of both of the accounts is immediately changed to Unfollowing. The blocked user cannot send direct messages to your account, and your tweets will not appear in the blocked user’s searches. To block a user, browse to his profile page, then click the arrow next to the Person icon. Click the “Block @Username” where Username is the Twitter handle of the user.

Block and Report User

When you block and report an account, the account is noted as a possible problem account. If additional users block and report the account, Twitter will suspend or completely delete the account. To block as well as report an account, browse to the user’s profile page, then click the arrow next to the Person icon. Click the “Report @Username for Spam” option where Username is the Twitter handle of the user.

Protect My Tweets

When you protect your tweets, your profile page is hidden from public view. Only your followers can view your profile and your posts. If a user wants to follow your account, he must send a request to you, and the invitation remains in Pending status until you approve or deny the request. To protect your tweets, open the Twitter Settings menu, then click the “Security and Privacy” option. Click the “Protect My Tweets” check box near the bottom of the page, then click “Save.” Going forward, your followers must be approved, and your tweets are protected from users who do not follow your account.

Hide Email Address

Twitter users can find other users on the platform using their email addresses, if this setting is enabled. You can disable the setting to hide your email address from other users by opening the Security and Privacy menu, then unchecking the “Let Others Find Me By My Email Address” check box. Click “Save Changes” to save the settings.

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