Stay Anonymous on Twitter

By Aaron Parson

By default, people can find your Twitter account using your email address.
i Bethany Clarke/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Twitter requires users have an account to write tweets, so all your posts must remain linked together. By using a new username and changing a few settings, however, you can significantly limit your personally identifying information, making you effectively anonymous from other users. Keep in mind, however, that Twitter itself could identify you with techniques such as IP address tracking, if required by a court order.

Creating an Anonymous Account

If you have an existing Twitter account that contains personal information, you should open a second account for anonymous tweets. Choose a username that you haven't used elsewhere and that doesn't include either your real name or your common online names. Other users on Twitter will not see any connection between your new account and your existing account unless you share that information.

Changing Privacy Settings

Twitter contains three settings important for keeping your account anonymous. On the "Security and privacy" tab in the settings, uncheck "Add a location to my Tweets" to stop Twitter from recording your real-world location. Press "Delete all location information" to erase this info from any tweets you've already made. Uncheck the "Let others find me by my email address" box to publicly disassociate your Twitter account from your email account -- Twitter will still know your email, but other users can't find you with it. Finally, if you have a phone tied to your account, open the "Mobile" settings tab and uncheck "Let others find me by my phone number."

×