Social Media Safety - Twitter

Whether you tweet once a day or constantly tweet updates throughout the day, you need to remember that if you’re using Twitter you need to be aware of the security and privacy risks.

Here are five important safety tips to remember when you’re using Twitter.

-- Never share personal information

It is best to keep all your private information such as your phone number, address and email address, out of your Twitter profile! Geotagging is an optional feature that is able to make your exact location public, it is also best to switch off this setting too.

-- Update your password

Hackers can easily gain access to your account if you have used a weak, easily guessable password. Use a strong password and change it every few weeks for maximum security. Make sure to include uppercase and lower case letters, numbers and special characters in your passwords every time.

-- Never click on suspicious links

Often hackers will try a phishing attack on you through your direct messages. You may receive a message saying something like “Click here to see a hilarious picture of you.” Use your common sense and DO NOT CLICK THE LINK!

-- Report and block spammers

Do not report anyone unless you suspect their account has been hacked. Reporting is serious and can get their account suspended or deleted, so think twice before you can to report someone just because you don’t agree with what they’re tweeting.

-- Get rid of 3rd party apps

Just like with Facebook, Twitter also has its fair share of spam applications that could cause you harm. Check through all your apps and if you don’t recognize an app or you don’t use it anymore – get rid of it!

How much do you know about staying safe on social media? 

If you’d like to know more about Twitter safety as well as safety on other social media networks, be sure to contact our OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) department on 021 110 0422 or email contact@osint.co.za.