Have you ever scrolled through Twitter and found some users with small lock icons next to their usernames? You might have stopped to see what it’s all about if you did. After a quick bit of exploring, you’ve probably noticed certain things you can’t do with those accounts.
What gives? What is that lock? What does the lock mean on Twitter, and how does it affect an account? And, even more importantly, why would anyone do that to their account (or is this something under Twitter’s control)? Let’s dive in and answer those questions.
What is Twitter Lock Icon?
Before we answer that question, let’s consider the nature of the platform. Twitter feeds on what is called asynchronous relationships. What does that mean? Simple: Olivia can follow Nathan and interact with his posts. However, because of the nature of Twitter, Nathan can also see and interact with Olivia’s posts (even though he doesn’t follow her). In other words, when you post something on Twitter, anyone can view it, whether they follow you or not.
You may have encountered a user account with a padlock next to the username, but what does the lock mean on Twitter? It means a private Twitter account. Click on that account, and you’ll immediately notice the difference. If you already follow that account, you can read the posted tweets. However, you can’t reply or retweet them. You can only see a protected post because you are following that account.
In other words, a private Twitter account means only followers can see posts from said account, and even those who can see them can’t act on them as they can with an unprotected account. Once a user has set their account to “protected,” those already following will automatically be able to see the account posts. But what about new followers?
Once you’ve set your account status to “protected,” other Twitter users won’t be able to follow you automatically. They can request permission to follow you, but you must accept them before they can see anything. If you don’t accept the request, that user won’t be granted permission to see your tweets.
Why You Need A Protected Twitter Account?
Now that you understand what is a private Twitter account, your next question might be: “Why do this?” This is especially questionable when the account belongs to a business. Believe it or not, there are actually some good reasons you might want to do this, even if the account in question belongs to your company.
Let me give you one particular situation where setting up a Twitter account for a company to protect its status makes sense.
Imagine your company is about to release a brand-new version of your product or service. Say you’re a group of Python Developers with something seriously game-changing to launch. You may want to make certain announcements, but you want them limited to only those who follow you on Twitter. You can protect that account, and only those who follow you will be able to read the posts.
Remember, those who can read the posts can’t reply or retweet. So your Python web development company can post about its upcoming release without worrying that information can be retweeted. Of course, that doesn’t mean one of your followers can’t turn around and post an original tweet about the content or a screenshot of your post. It does, however, strip away the convenience of retweeting.
Remove that convenience, and many users will be dissuaded from acting.
Another benefit of protecting your account is preventing spam, bot, and malicious accounts from following you. You might also prefer not to have accounts from particular political, social, religious, or extreme affiliations following you. Protecting your account can prevent that from happening.
Why Shouldn’t You Lock Twitter Account?
This is a fairly simple question to answer- Marketing. When you protect your account, you seriously limit your audience. Unless a Twitter user is really interested in your company, they won’t bother to jump through the hoops of following you, especially knowing their interaction with your account is limited.
So, unless you’re using the protected status temporarily, know that locking down your account will seriously hinder your company’s visibility on the platform.
How to Make Twitter Account Private?
Doesn’t know- how to make your Twitter private or how to lock Twitter account. It is a simple thing. We have created visual graphics to show all the steps. Log into Twitter and follow these steps:
- Click More in the left navigation.
- Click Settings and Privacy from the popup menu.
- Click Privacy and Safety.
- Click the checkbox to protect your tweets (Figure 1).
- When prompted, click Protect.
The steps are almost the same on the Twitter mobile app.
Should you want to unprotect your account, simply go back and reverse the process.
That’s how you’d want to protect a Twitter account, and that’s how you can do it. This can be a really handy feature for any company that might need a temporary bit of privacy. Make your Twitter account private wisely, and the feature will serve you well.