Twitter Checklist
Twitter is a popular public platform used by many to express themselves, share stories, pictures and articles on the net. It can be a place people can find support, friends, jokes and much more.
Unfortunately like anything, it is not always used for good and that’s why we have devised this checklist to help you stay safe!
For more help you can head to the Twitter Help Centre.
How do I protect my privacy?
Privacy
When you set up a Twitter account it is automatically set to Public, this means that anyone can see your Tweets, even if they don’t follow you; even if they don’t have a Twitter account. You can Protect your tweets, which means anyone who doesn’t follow you would need to, in order to see your tweets.
To check if your account is public or private take these steps;
- Login to Twitter
- Click on your small profile pic next to the search bar
- Click on Settings and choose Security and Privacy in the left menu
- Scroll down to the Privacy section. if you want to be private tick protect mytweets, if you want your account to be public, make sure it is unticked
In this section you can also choose who you want to be able to tag you in photos.
Who Can See My Tweets?
If you have chosen to protect your tweets, only the people that follow you can see them. If you have chosen not to, any one can view your tweets, unless you have blocked them.
How do I report something?
If someone has posted something that you don’t think should be on Twitter (please read the Twitter rules) but you don’t want to report the person who posted it; follow these steps:
- Click on the three dots next to the favourite star (on the Tweet)
- Select Report from the drop down menu
- Choose what type of report and follow the steps provided
If you don’t want to see the post on your timeline but don’t think it warrants a report, you can use the ‘Mute’ option to hide the post.
If you want to report a Twitter user you need to;
- Go to their profile and click on the next to the button.
- Click Report, and then select what type of report you would like to make.
If you are reporting something or someone for being violent or threatening, you will receive an email form from Twitter confirming your report, making it easier and clearer for law enforcement, should you wish to make it a police matter. You don’t have to be following someone to report them or their tweet.
Who can follow me?
My Followers
If you have chosen to Protect your tweets you will receive a notification when someone has requested to follow you. This allows you to choose whether to accept or decline their follow.
If you have chosen not to protect your tweets, anyone can follow you (unless you have previously blocked them) and you will receive a notification informing that they have started following you.
Who am I Following?
If you are looking to follow a celebrity you like, Twitter has made it easy for you. Twitter verifies celebrities, famous people and public figures. This is displayed with a tick next to their Twitter handle. Twitter allows parody and fan accounts so this helps you identify the real deal quickly and easily.
You can follow whoever you like, and Twitter will also make suggestions on who they
think you might like to follow.
How do I unfollow or delete content?
Unfollowing
If you no longer wish to follow someone you can unfollow them by going to their Twitter profile, click the button and you will automatically unfollow. If you still want to follow someone but don’t want to see their tweets; click the gear
on their profile and select Mute, you can un-mute at any time.
If you don’t think unfollowing them is enough you can also Block a user. Click the gear on their page and select Block. This means that the user will no longer be able to follow or message you.
It’s good practice to occasionally look through your followers and have a spring clean. If you no longer know someone or don’t want them seeing your tweets, then its good to remove them – it’s easy to forget who’s following you.
Deleting Content
If you would like to delete a post you created, all you need to do is click on the next to the favourite star on the post and click delete. This works for any tweet or re-tweet. If you have Favorited something but didn’t want to, you just have to click the again to un-favourite.