X

What is X? 

X, formerly Twitter, is a social media service which allows you to share posts and follow other users so their posts appear in your ‘feed’. Posts are delivered in real time and can include text, images, video, GIFs, links, keywords, location information and polls. You can also make ‘mentions’ of other users to add a link to their profile in your post, and ‘hashtags’ to link your post to other posts about the same topic. General posts are limited to 280 text characters, but you can also share longer posts if you subscribe to X Premium.

You can interact with other users on X by ‘tweeting back’, liking or ‘retweeting’ their post. You can also send direct messages to communicate privately, broadcast live streams to your followers, or join an X space to have live audio conversations. You can also join or set up member-based communities that are moderated by other users. X circles allows you to send posts to select people, and only the individuals you have added can interact with the posts you share.

X accounts are open to the public by default, but the settings can be adjusted to make your account private and/or protect your individual tweets.

X is making changes to its block function: if your posts are set to public, blocked accounts will be able to view your posts but not engage (such as like, reply, repost).

Using X is free but a subscription service called X Premium lets you send longer tweets and gives you other features, such as the ability to edit posts within a 1 hour window. The company also earns money by showing you advertising content, offering promoted posts and data licensing. X accounts can also be linked to and shared from third-party websites.

X offers users an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot called Grok, which answers questions and generates content, such as images and text, and engages in conversations using real-time data from X and the web.

Website: x.com

Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use X?

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use content sharing services like X.

X is used for: content creation, in-app purchasing, live streaming, location sharing, messaging/online chat, online relationships, photo/video sharing, screen capture and voice chat.

Social media age restrictions for under-16s

From 10 December 2025, Australians under 16 will no longer be allowed to have access to their X accounts or be able to create a new account. This change is in response to the Australian Government’s social media age restrictions.

These links are provided by X:

• Report an underage user
  How to report an underage user on X.
• About suspended accounts
  How users can appeal if their account has been suspended in error.
• Australian Online Safety Information
  Find out how X approaches online safety for Australians.

How can you report online abuse, ask for content to be removed or block someone?

These links are provided by X (Twitter):

• Report a tweet, list or direct message
  Learn how to report abuse or inappropriate content in a post, list or direct message.
• Report abuse and sensitive content
  How to report abusive or harassing behaviour on X. You can also report child sexual exploitation material.
• Block accounts on X
  Control who you interact with on X and stop specific accounts from contacting you. Unless your account is set to private, blocked accounts can still view your posts but cannot interact with them.
• Soft block accounts on X
  A soft block is a method to remove a follower without notifying them. This is achieved by blocking and then immediately unblocking the account so that it is removed from your follower list.
• Mute accounts on X
  Learn how to remove an account’s posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking that account.

How can you moderate comments and tagging?

These links are provided by X (Twitter):

• About replies and mentions
  Understand how you join conversations on X and who can see replies and mentions.
• About different types of posts
  Understand the different types of posts, how to use them and how mentions and replies work.
• Choose who can reply to your posts on X
  Learn how to adjust your conversation settings so you can restrict who can reply.

How can you protect your personal information?

These links are provided by X (Twitter):

• How to protect your personal information
  Learn how to control the information you share with X and protect your personal information.
• Profile visibility settings
  Outlines which information on your profile is visible publicly and which items can be configured to limit who can see them.
• Public and protected posts
  Outlines the difference between public and protected posts and who can see them.
• X privacy
  Learn how to make your account as secure as possible.
• Access and download your account data
  Download your X account data, including photos, videos and posts, and your direct messages. You can also download your personal information, account history, apps and devices connected to your account, your activity, interests and ads data. 

Key safety links

These links are provided by X (Twitter):

• Safety and security
  Offers a range of general help, safety and security information when using X, including hacking, spam, sensitive content and abuse.
• X rules
  Rules and policies relating to X, including guidelines and enforcements options.
• Terms of service
  Outlines the rules you agree to by using X.
• Privacy policy
  Outlines how X collects and uses your data.
• Data sharing with business partners
  Outlines how X shares your information with its business partners.
• About Grok
  Frequently asked questions about Grok.

Related eSafety links

Find out more about the social media age restrictions and access our social media 'ban' or delay FAQ for the facts.