Configure X (formerly Twitter) safety settings, filter sensitive content, restrict DMs, protect account privacy, and understand what teens encounter on the platform.
X (formerly Twitter) is a public social network used by over 350 million people worldwide. While many teens use it to follow news, entertainment, and creators, the platform's open nature and limited parental controls make it one of the harder platforms to manage for younger users.
X requires users to be 13+, but the platform's open feed, sensitive content, and messaging features make it most appropriate for ages 16 and above, with active parental awareness.
Unlike TikTok or Instagram, X does not offer a Family Pairing or supervised experience feature. Safety depends on account settings, content filters, and ongoing conversations with your teen.
X is an open public platform where users post short messages ("posts" or "tweets"), reply to others, share posts, and follow accounts. By default, most accounts are public — anyone can read posts without an account.
Toggle ON "Protect your posts." With a protected account:
For most teens, a private/protected account is the right default. It limits exposure to strangers while still allowing connection with friends and approved accounts.
Disable:
This prevents strangers from finding your teen's account via contact information.
X hosts significant amounts of explicit, violent, and disturbing content. Even with filters enabled, determined users can access this content. Filters reduce exposure but are not a complete barrier.
Toggle ON "Hide sensitive content" in search results to reduce exposure when searching.
Options:
For teens, either disable message requests entirely or restrict to verified users only.
Enable message filtering to automatically move suspicious requests to a separate filtered inbox.
Add keywords, phrases, or hashtags that, when present in posts, will hide that content from the feed. Useful for blocking exposure to specific topics.
From any account:
Blocked accounts cannot view your profile, interact with posts, or send messages.
Muting hides an account's posts without notifying them — useful for accounts your teen prefers not to see without creating conflict.
Enable notification quality filters:
This reduces exposure to harassment-style notifications from strangers.
From any post or account:
Categories include:
X has a dedicated harassment reporting flow. Encourage teens to report — and not just block — genuinely harmful content so the platform can take action.
Enable 2FA to protect against unauthorized access. If the account is compromised, a second verification step prevents login.
X shows two feeds:
Following is generally safer for teens — it limits exposure to algorithmically amplified content and keeps the feed predictable.
Encourage your teen to switch to the "Following" tab as their default view rather than "For You." This significantly reduces exposure to polarizing, viral, or inappropriate recommended content.
Under new ownership, X has:
These changes make the platform riskier than the old Twitter for younger users.
X requires users to be 13+, and users must be 18+ to view sensitive media. In regions with online safety laws — including the UK, EU, and Australia — X now uses age assurance (AI-based age estimation or ID checks) to gate adult content. In the US, however, there's still no meaningful age verification, and the platform has no supervised experience or parental controls for minors anywhere.
X's safety settings are now configured. Given the platform's open nature and limited parental tools, regular conversations and account reviews are the most important protective measures.
Follow these steps to configure parental controls. Check off each step as you complete it — your progress stays on this page.
