Do you ever like tweets but then regret it later when others can see them? Or want to manage how visible your activity is to followers? Twitter doesn‘t have a direct "hide likes" feature, but workarounds exist.
In this starter guide, I‘ll overview 6 methods to obscure, delete, or limit access to your liked tweets.
The 6 ways to hide Twitter likes include:
- Making your account private
- Manually unliking tweets
- Using Chrome to batch remove likes
- Installing a Twitter eraser app
- Deactivating your Twitter account
- Deleting your account completely
Now let‘s dive into each approach step-by-step…
Method 1: Make Your Twitter Account Private
The simplest way to hide your likes is making your entire Twitter account private. This restricts visibility so only your approved followers see activity.
Enabling this is done by adjusting your Twitter privacy settings:
Step 1: Access account settings
Click your profile icon > Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety
Step 2: Update audience options
Under "Audience and tagging" check "Protect your tweets"
Step 3: Save new privacy settings
Confirm by clicking Save at the bottom
Benefits:
- Completely hides all your activity including likes
- Simple toggle adjustment
Downsides:
- Followers have limited interactions
- Strangers can‘t see any of your tweets
So if you tweet publicly often, this could be restrictive. But great for hiding likes fast.
Next let‘s look at selectively removing likes manually…
Method 2: Manually Unlike Tweets
Rather than lockdown your whole account, you can also hide likes post-by-post:
Step 1: View your liked tweets
Visit your profile and click the Likes tab
Step 2: Click the like button to unlike
This will hide that tweet from your likes
Step 3: Repeat for other tweets
Keep scrolling and removing likes selectively
Benefits:
- Granular control over visible likes
- Accessible from Twitter directly
Downsides:
- Extremely time consuming
- Easy to miss likes as you scroll
Manually scrubbing likes gives flexibility but isn‘t efficient. For bulk removal, read on…
Method 3: Bulk Remove Likes using Google Chrome
You can instantly erase your entire like history in seconds using a Google Chrome trick:
Step 1: Visit Twitter on Chrome
Ensure you are logged into Twitter on Chrome desktop or mobile
Step 2: Open your liked tweets tab
Go to your Twitter profile then likes section
Step 3: Launch the Chrome console
Press Control + Shift + J on Windows or Command + Option + J on Mac
Step 4: Paste this code in console:
setInterval(() => {
for (const d of document.querySelectorAll(‘div[data-testid="unlike"]‘)) {
d.click()}
window.scrollTo(0, document.body.scrollHeight)
}, 3000)Step 5: Hit enter and watch!
The script will now scroll and unlike all tweets automatically
Benefits:
- Removes thousands of likes instantly
- No manual clicking or scrolling required
Downsides:
- Can‘t access or reference liked tweets after
So with a few keystrokes, your entire like history vanishes!
Method 4: Use a Twitter Likes Eraser App
Third party Twitter eraser apps provide another automated option:
Steps:
- Install app from app store
- Connect your Twitter account
- Execute erase likes command
The app deletes all your Twitter likes on your behalf. Some let you specify date ranges too.
Benefits
- Fast bulk removal
- Some filtering options
Downsides
- Security risks from third party apps
So verify legitimacy before connecting.
Now for more permanent removal options…
Method 5: Deactivate Your Twitter Account
You can choose to deactivate your Twitter account:
Steps:
- Go to Settings and privacy > Account
- Choose Deactivate your account at the bottom
- Confirm deactivation
Your account disappears from view immediately. After 30 days it will be permanently deleted.
Benefits:
- Removes all likes and account data
- Takes less than a minute
Downsides:
- Can‘t reuse or reclaim account
- Lose access to contacts and history
So only consider if ditching Twitter entirely.
Method 6: Delete Your Twitter Account
Finally, you can erase your Twitter presence for good:
- Go to your account Settings
- Choose "Deactivate your account" then confirm
- After 30+ days your account will be deleted
This removes all tweets, likes, followers – everything. So only delete if you are done with Twitter forever.
Now that we‘ve covered the main approaches to hiding likes on Twitter, let‘s compare them…
Pros and Cons of Different Twitter Like Hiding Methods
| Method | Benefits | Downsides |
|---|---|---|
| Private account | Fully hidden activity | Limits interactions |
| Manual unliking | Selectivity | Time consuming |
| Chrome script | Instant bulk removal | Lose like reference |
| Eraser apps | Automates deletion | Security risks |
| Deactivate account | Removes all data | Can‘t restore account |
| Delete account | Permanently erases all traces | No account recovery |
Recommendations for Hiding Twitter Likes
Based on my experience assessing privacy risks on social networks, I recommend these guidelines for most users:
- Use Chrome script to instantly erase likes older than a year
- Manually curate likes from the past 12 months
- Make account private temporarily if deleting in bulk
- Enable 2-factor authentication for extra security
You retain access to recent likes for reference this way while scrubbing older activity. Budget 5 minutes a month for curation.
Twitter Like Statistics 2022
To put usage context around likes, Twitter sees:
- 500 million tweets sent per day
- Over 300 billion total tweets
- Average 38 likes per tweet
So billions of likes happen daily. The average Twitter user likes 96 posts per month themselves.
Key Takeaways to Hide Your Twitter Likes
In summary, core learnings for erasing Twitter like history:
- Use account privacy to instantly hide all activity short term
- Leverage built-in settings and Chrome tricks for bulk removal
- Be cautious of security risks from third party apps
- Weigh permanent deletion carefully as data can‘t be recovered
I hope these 6 methods give you more control over managing private social activity!
Let me know if you have any other questions on executing the steps.
