X, formerly known as Twitter, is the 5th most visited site in the world as of October 2023. Founded in 2006, the social media platform is widely used by people of all ages, including children, due to its message sharing capabilities. However, due to its “ease of use”, the platform that also makes it easy for users to share illegal and explicit content with a large audience. In 2023, the platform unbanned an account that had previously posted illegal child sex abuse material, or CSAM. Examples like this highlight the potential risks that come with social media apps. Privacy settings on X play a crucial role in protecting young users and can help ensure their online experiences are safe and positive.
This guide will provide steps to properly configure your child’s privacy settings on X. It’s encouraged to set these settings to be as private as possible and to do so with your child present to allow for open communication and questions.
Privacy Settings
X can be accessed in a variety of ways with the most common being through an internet browser and through the mobile app.
- Browser:
- Log in to your child’s X account.
- On the left-hand side menu, select the More icon.
- Select Settings and Privacy.
- Mobile:
- Log in to your child’s X account.
- Tap on the profile icon at the top-left of the screen.
- Select the Settings and Support, then Settings and privacy.
- Privacy and Safety Settings:
- In the Settings and privacy menu, locate and tap Privacy and safety.
- Click on Audience and tagging and turn on Protect your posts and Protect your videos. Turning these settings on will limit what information others can view and any videos your child may post.
- Go back to the Privacy and safety menu. Tap on Content you see, then Search settings. Turn off Hide sensitive content.
- Go back to the Content you see menu. Tap on Sensitive media, change the three settings (Graphic violence, Adult content, and Other) to Never show this.
- Go back to the Privacy and safety menu. Tap on Direct messages. You can decide who can message your child, whether audio or video calling is enabled, whether read receipts are enabled, and more.
- Return to Privacy and Safety and select Discoverability and Contacts. Here, you can select how other users may be able to find your child on X.
- Return to Privacy and Safety and select Data sharing and personalization.
- In this section you can adjust Ad Preferences, which are advertisements based on your child’s X activity.
- You can also manage Inferred Identity, which enables X to track which devices your child as used to log in, as well as private information.
- Finally, you can control the settings on Location Information, which allows the app to track your child’s location history as well their current location.
Download a printable version of the steps above.
