How to limit a Twitter profile
It’s important to be aware of what is public and what is not on Twitter. You may feel like your tweets can only be seen by those who follow you but, as we’ve already seen, a public profile can be seen by anyone in the world – and that includes your teachers, your grandparents and the police. Even if you reply to a user with their Twitter handle, eg @familylives, the message is still public.
It is possible to PROTECT your tweets, which will remove your profile from the public domain, so that your tweets can only be seen by your followers. Followers will have to request to follow you and will only see your tweets if you approve them. This allows you to make Twitter a more confidential place between you and your friends.
To protect your tweets, log into Twitter, and select 'Settings' from the profile menu. Scroll down to find 'Tweet privacy' and tick the checkbox next to 'Protect my tweets'.
Twitter and your location
Like many social networks, Twitter allows you to publish your location each time you tweet. This might seem like a fun idea to let your followers know where you are, but it can also allow people you don’t know to find out where you are, particularly when Tweeting from a mobile device on a public profile. Family Lives strongly recommends against using the location feature on Twitter.
Location settings are turned off as a default, but it’s worth double checking. If you have turned yours on and want to turn them off again, go into the ‘Settings’ menu, scroll down to ‘Tweet location’ and untick the checkbox that says ‘Add a location to my tweets’. At this point, it’s also worth pressing the button that says ‘Delete all location data’, to clear information about where you’ve been in the past.
Blocking and reporting Twitter users
If you are followed (or, in the case of a protected profile, you get a follow request) from someone you don’t like the look of, it’s possible to block these users.
Next to the ‘Follow’ button on a user’s profile is an icon shaped like a person’s head and shoulders. Click on this and a menu will appear. You now have a few options. You can BLOCK the user to prevent them from seeing your profile, and vice versa, and you can also REPORT FOR SPAM, which will alert Twitter to any users who are abusing the service.
If you are concerned about offensive material or pictures involving children or young people, you can report these to CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit of the police. CEOP was set up specifically to deal with child protection issues online. Please note CEOP is not able to get involved in cyber bullying incidents, only about the concerns of the safety of young people online.
BLOCK
Using this will prevent you seeing updates and the user will not be able to see your updates either. They also won't be able to send you private messages or @Replies.
REPORT FOR SPAM
Use this option to tell Twitter that you think this user is Spammy or otherwise acting against the Twitter Terms of Service.
Twitter can be a great way to make new connections by sharing bits of your life. Just make sure what to share and who you share it with is under your control.