Turn on Protect your posts in X’s audience settings. This restricts who can view your posts through X, but it does not recall screenshots, copies or material you published elsewhere.
Turn on protected posts
Open Settings and privacy → Privacy and safety → Audience and tagging, then enable Protect your posts. Save or confirm if prompted. Check the lock indicator and review the setting again. Labels may vary by client.
What changes and what does not
| Item | Expectation |
|---|---|
| New follower | Must request access; you decide whether to approve |
| Existing follower | Can retain access unless you remove them |
| Profile information | Some identity fields remain visible; do not put secrets in them |
| Previous public copies | May remain outside the protected profile |
| Approved follower | Can still copy what they can view |
Review the audience, not just the toggle
Inspect existing followers and pending requests. Remove accounts you no longer want to have access. Review photo tagging, discoverability and message controls separately; one protected-post setting is not a complete privacy configuration.
If you need a record before changing settings, download your own X archive and verify its contents. Neither an export nor Tweet Archivist promises a complete backup of private, deleted or unavailable material.
Before making the account public again
X warns that unprotecting makes previously protected posts public. Review old posts and pending requests before changing the setting. Do not use a brief protected period as a substitute for a trusted-recipient sharing tool. A private List curates what you read; it does not control who sees your posts.
Sources and checks
Reviewed on October 16, 2026. How to protect and unprotect your Posts; About public and protected Posts.