Make Twitter Account Public: A Comprehensive Guide

Twitter allows users to choose between having a public account where all tweets are visible or a protected account where only approved followers can see posts. For many, building reach and engaging broadly makes a public profile ideal.

In this guide we explore how to make Twitter account public, the benefits and risks, tweaking visibility settings, best practices for public posting, and much more. Let’s dive in!

What Does It Mean for a Twitter Account to Be Public?

A public Twitter account means that anyone on the internet can view your tweets and profile information without needing to follow you or request access.

Some key traits of public accounts:

• All tweets are visible publicly by default unless you limit individual tweets.
• Unapproved followers can see and interact with your tweets.
• Your follower count, following count, likes, tweets, media, and bio are viewable.
• Anyone can mention you in tweets without them being held for approval.
• Search engines can index and surface your public tweets.

Public means open access and global visibility rather than limiting your audience to approved followers.

Benefits of Having a Public Twitter Account

Here are some of the major advantages of operating a public rather than protected Twitter profile:

Increased Discoverability

With public viewing access, it’s easier for your content to be discovered organically by people outside your existing follower base. This helps grow your audience.

Driving Referral Traffic

Public tweets containing links to content like articles can drive referral website traffic as your posts gain exposure.

Thought Leadership

Thought leaders and public figures often benefit from public posting to widely share their perspectives and build their personal brand.

Global Conversation

A public account allows you to easily participate in real-time public conversations around events and topics relevant to you.

Professional Networking

Public posting enables professional connections with colleagues, brands, potential partners, and industry leaders.

Real-Time Publicity

Public accounts allow anyone to see your commentary on trending topics, events, and news—helping generate exposure.

For most use cases, operating publicly makes the most sense to maximize Twitter’s reach. But it also comes with some risks to weigh.

Risks and Downsides to Keep in Mind

While public posting enables growth and engagement, it also brings a few potential pitfalls:

No Post Approval

With public viewing, you lose the ability to approve who sees your tweets before they are visible. Unwanted eyes can access your content.

Targeted Harassment

Public figures and brands often face greater coordinated harassment from trolls, which can be demoralizing.

Search Engine Indexing

Any regrettable tweets will likely be indexed by search engines and persist online even if you delete them from Twitter.

Youth Privacy

Minors often benefit from protected accounts to shield personal posts from unintended audiences. The public can raise safety risks.

Unfiltered Feedback

Opening yourself to public commentary means you may face criticism and negativity you might rather avoid from strangers.

Client Confidentiality

Professionals like lawyers and doctors should keep client-related tweets protected to ensure confidentiality.

While public accounts enable growth, staying mindful of these risks helps inform how to tweet safely and strategically.

How to Make a Twitter Account Public

Ready to open your Twitter profile up to the world? Here is a simple step-by-step guide to making your account public:

1. Log in to your Twitter account on desktop or mobile.
2. Navigate to your profile by clicking your profile picture or avatar.
3. Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
4. Click on “Audience and tagging” in the left sidebar.
5. Under the “Tweet privacy” heading, choose the “Public” option.
6. Click “Save changes” at the bottom to confirm.

That’s all it takes! Now, your account and tweets will have public visibility. Note you can still limit individual tweets differently if desired.

Also read: How to Make My Twitter Account Private on Twitter

How to Make a Twitter Account Public on Mobile

Want to open up public access to Twitter’s mobile app? Follow these simple steps:

On iPhone:

1. Tap your profile icon in the top left.
2. Scroll down and select “Settings and privacy”.
3. Tap “Privacy and safety” and choose “Audience and tagging.”
4. Under “Tweet privacy,” select the “Public” option.
5. Confirm by tapping “Save changes”.

On Android Phone:

1. Tap your profile icon in the top left.
2. Choose “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
3. Select “Privacy and safety” then “Audience and tagging.”
4. Choose “Public” under the “Tweet privacy” heading.
5. Confirm with “Save changes.”

That’s all it takes to unlock public posting access on mobile! Adjust anytime.

Making Your Twitter Account Public on Desktop

Do you prefer to manage your Twitter settings on a desktop? Here’s how to make your profile public:

1. Click your profile icon in the top navigation bar.
2. Choose “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
3. Select “Privacy and safety” in the left sidebar.
4. Click “Audience and tagging.”
5. Under “Tweet privacy,” choose “Public.”
6. Confirm by clicking “Save changes.”

Just like that, your tweets will be visible to all on the desktop! You can toggle this anytime.

What Happens When You Make Your Twitter Account Public?

Making your tweets public has a number of effects:

• Global tweet visibility – Any Twitter user can view, interact with, and share your tweets without following you.
• Increased discoverability – Your tweets, followers, likes, etc, are viewable by all, helping you gain new followers organically.
• Public tweets by default – Tweets posted publicly unless you override the setting for individual ones.
• Mention approval lifted – Anyone can mention you in tweets without prior approval.
• Searchable by strangers – Your public tweets can be found by people searching on Twitter.
• Possible search indexing – Public tweets may be indexed by search engines like Google, leaving an online footprint.
• Higher engagement potential – Wider visibility means more interaction, replies, likes, and retweets from strangers.
• Public feedback – With open commenting, anyone can weigh in with unsolicited opinions, praise, or criticism.

In summary, public means reaching the widest audience and participating in open conversation, for better or worse.

How to Make Existing Tweets Public

Did you recently make your account public but want past tweets visible, too? Here are two options:

Publicize All Past Tweets

1. Go to your profile and choose “Settings and Privacy.”
2. Select “Privacy and safety” then “Audience and tagging.”
3. Toggle the “Protect your Tweets” switch to blue/on.
4. Tap “Apply to all Tweets” to publicize your entire history.

Publicize Individual Tweets

1. On mobile, tap the three dots on a tweet and select “Change who can reply/see.”
2. Choose “Public” and confirm.
3. On the desktop, hover over a tweet and click the three dots, then “Change who can reply/see.”
4. Select “Public” and confirm.

Selectively revealing past tweets helps balance privacy and public reach.

Unprotecting Your Tweets After Making an Account Private

Previously protected your tweets but now wish to open up public posting again? Here are the steps:

1. Access your Twitter “Settings and Privacy.”
2. Choose “Privacy and safety” > “Audience and tagging.”
3. Under “Tweet privacy,” select the “Public” option instead of “Protect your Tweets.”
4. Click the option to “Apply to all Tweets,” so your entire history becomes public.
5. Confirm by clicking “Save changes” at the bottom.

That’s all it takes to easily unprotect your past and future tweets after a period of privacy. Give public posting a try!

Perks of Posting Tweets Publicly

Posting with a public profile offers unique advantages:

• Increased tweet reach – Public tweets can gain wide organic visibility, virality, and exposure.
• Discovered by new users – Help new followers outside your existing circles find your content.
• SEO benefits – Public tweets may rank in web search results, driving traffic.
• Engagement with strangers – Have your voice heard by the widest possible relevant audience.
• Real-time trend participation – Weigh publicly on breaking news, events, and trends.
• Showcasing thought leadership – Establish authority by posting specialized knowledge and insights.
• Connecting with brands/influencers – Publicly interact to build awareness and relationships.

Posting publicly facilitates discovery, web presence, and unrestricted engagement – ideal for most use cases.

Risks and Downsides of Public Twitter Posting

While beneficial for most, some downsides come with public tweeting:

• Negative feedback – This puts you exposed to criticism, mockery, and trolling from strangers.
• Losing tweet control – Content can spread more widely and rapidly than intended or be taken out of context.
• Online harassment – Increased public visibility can mean heightened harassment and abuse.
• Oversharing – No take-backs on tweets that reveal too much or could embarrass you later.
• Youth safety – Public posting poses more privacy and safety risks for minors.
• Client confidentiality – Patient privacy breaches, attorney-client privilege, etc.
• Search engine indexing – Even deleted tweets may persist in public search engine caches and archives.

Understanding these hazards allows tweets to be more thoughtful and strategic while public.

Comparing Public vs Protected Twitter Accounts

How do public accounts differ from protected accounts on Twitter? Here’s an overview:

	Public Account	Protected Account
Tweet visibility	Global	Followers only
Tweet engagement	Anyone	Approved followers only
Searchability	Can be indexed publicly	Invisible to search
Mentions	Anyone can mention	Requires approval
Followers	No approval needed	Must approve followers
Profile visibility	Fully public	Limited to approved followers
Retweets	Can be widely reshared	Limited spread

In summary, the public is fully accessible and adopts an “opt-out” model where tweets are visible by default unless limited. Protected requires opting each user in.

Can You Post Tweets Publicly With a Protected Account?

Yes, those with protected, follower-only accounts can still share tweets publicly on a case-by-case basis:

On mobile:

1. Tap the three dots on a tweet draft.
2. Choose “Change who can reply/see.”
3. Select “Public” instead of “Followers you follow.”

On desktop:

1. Click the three dots on a tweet draft.
2. Select “Change who can reply/see.”
3. Choose “Public” rather than “Followers you follow.”

This allows those with generally private accounts to still participate in public conversations when desired while maintaining tighter control overall.

Making Your Twitter Likes Private

Even with a public profile, you can restrict the visibility of your likes:

1. Access “Settings and privacy” > “Privacy and safety.”
2. Under “Audience and tagging,” go to “Like visibility.”
3. Choose “Followers you follow” rather than public likes.
4. Save changes.

Now, only followers can see your likes, but your tweets remain public – perfect for blending public posting with private reactions.

Limiting Replies and Mentions

To avoid unwelcome public interactions, restrict who can reply and mention:

1. In “Settings and privacy,” go to “Privacy and safety.”
2. Choose “Audience and tagging” then “Who can reply/mention you.”
3. Select “People you follow” rather than everyone.
4. Save changes.

This keeps your tweets public but limits unsolicited incoming engagement like harassment or spam.

Making Single Tweets More Private

For one-off private tweets from a public profile, limit their visibility:

On mobile:

• Tap the three dots on a tweet draft.

• Select “Change who can reply/see.”

• Choose “Followers you follow” instead of public.

On desktop:

• Click the three dots on a tweet draft.

• Choose “Change who can reply/see.”

• Select “Followers you follow.”

This overrides your account-wide public setting for individual tweets when you need privacy.

Best Practices for Posting Tweets Publicly

Optimizing public Twitter presence involves thoughtful behavior:

• Think before tweeting – No taking it back once public, so pause to consider potential unintended effects.
• Value add consistently – Build a helpful public persona by sharing worthwhile insights, not just inane chatter.
• Take criticism gracefully – Address public critique respectfully; don’t retaliate.
• Credit sources – Cite tweet sources ethically and share-worthy accounts.
• Fix mistakes transparently – If you tweet incorrect info, publicly and quickly correct it.
• Use common sense – Keep civility, ethics, and the public square nature of Twitter in mind.
• Customize privacy – Use features like limiting replies/mentions to manage public visibility selectively.

Posting value and staying calm under public pressure takes wisdom and care. But the benefits outweigh the work.

Is It Safer to Have a Private Twitter Account?

Private, protected accounts do offer some safety advantages:

• Control over followers – Must manually approve each to limit harassment/spam.
• Fewer unwanted interactions – Only approved followers can reply, mention, or view you.
• Contained content spread – Tweets only seen by people you green light, limiting misinformation spread.
• Invisible to search engines – Tweets do not appear in public Twitter or web search results.
• Added protection for minors – Prevents contact with strangers and shields personal information.

So, for certain use cases like youth accounts, confidential professional topics, and public figures facing onslaughts of harassment, private makes sense. But most benefit from the public’s open access.

Switching Back to a Protected Account

Should you wish to return to a followers-only protected account after a period of public posting, simply:

1. Access “Settings and privacy” then “Privacy and safety.”
2. Under “Audience and tagging,” click “Protect your Tweets.”
3. Check the option to have this apply to all of your tweets, past and future.
4. Click “Save changes”.

This will switch your account back to protected and limit tweet visibility moving forward. Adjust anytime.

Closing Public Access to Your Twitter Profile

To rescind public access to your Twitter bio, media, likes, followers, etc:

1. Go to “Settings and privacy” > “Privacy and safety.”
2. Select “Protect your Tweets” under “Audience and tagging.”
3. Enable this toggle so it turns blue.
4. Click “Save changes”.

This prevents public browsing of your profile details even if you keep tweeting them publicly. Mix and match account privacy settings as desired.

Troubleshooting Problems Making a Twitter Account Public

Have issues opening up public access on your Twitter profile? Try these tips:

• Confirm your age is set to 13+ in account settings, required for public access.
• On mobile, ensure you update visibility in your Home timeline profile, not just your fleet profile.
• Check that visibility didn’t default back to protected after logging out and back in.
• Try toggling between public and protected to force a refresh.
• Confirm visibility separately for both tweets and profiles if needed.
• Verify account restrictions like read-only access are not preventing changes.

If problems persist, contact @TwitterSupport for personalized troubleshooting assistance to regain public posting abilities.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Public Twitter Accounts

Should your account be public or private? Consider these key trade-offs:

Benefits of Public Accounts

• Increased discoverability and reach
• Driving referral website traffic
• Establishing thought leadership
• Participating in real-time public conversations
• Connecting professionally

Downsides of Public Accounts

• Dealing with harassment and bullying
• Loss of tweet approval control
• Oversharing/lacking privacy
• Indexing by search engines
• Unfiltered public feedback

Assess your specific needs and use case to determine if public or protected status makes the most sense. You can always switch between them.

Frequently Asked Questions About Public and Private Twitter Accounts