Twitter uses your interests to show you relevant posts and recommendations
When you set interests on Twitter, the platform uses them to decide which posts appear in your feed and which accounts to suggest to you. You can change these interests at any time — Twitter doesn't lock you into your original choices. The process takes about two minutes and happens entirely in your account settings.
Your interests are separate from who you follow. You might follow a friend who posts about cooking, but if cooking isn't listed as an interest, Twitter won't use that to shape your recommendations. Similarly, you can have an interest in sports without following any sports accounts yet.
Key Takeaways
- You change interests by opening Settings and Privacy, selecting Preferences, then Interests and Ads, and toggling categories on or off.
- Twitter shows you a list of broad categories like Entertainment, Sports, and Technology — you don't create custom interests yourself.
- Removing an interest doesn't delete posts you've already seen or unfollow accounts you follow; it only changes future recommendations.
- You can add or remove interests as often as you want, and changes take effect immediately.
How to access your interests settings on Twitter
Start by opening Twitter and tapping your profile picture in the top left corner (on mobile) or top right corner (on desktop). A menu will appear with several options. Look for "Settings and Privacy" — this is usually near the bottom of the menu.
Once you're in Settings and Privacy, tap or click "Preferences." This section controls how Twitter displays content to you. You'll see several options here, including language, display settings, and privacy controls. Look for "Interests and Ads" — this is where you manage your interests.
Viewing and changing your current interests
When you open Interests and Ads, Twitter shows you a list of categories you can choose from. These are preset categories like Entertainment, Sports, Technology, Business, Health, and many others. Each category has a toggle switch next to it — the switch is on (usually shown in blue) if you've selected that interest, and off (usually gray) if you haven't.
To add an interest, find the category you want and tap or click the toggle to turn it on. To remove an interest, tap or click the toggle to turn it off. You don't need to save or confirm your changes — Twitter updates your interests immediately as you toggle each one.
Scroll through the full list to see all available categories. Twitter regularly adds new interest categories, so you may see different options than you saw the last time you checked.
What happens when you change your interests
When you add a new interest, Twitter begins showing you more posts and accounts related to that topic in your Home feed and in its recommendations. You'll also see ads related to that interest. The change usually takes effect within a few minutes, though it can take up to an hour for all recommendations to update.
When you remove an interest, Twitter stops using that category to shape your feed. Posts you've already seen stay in your timeline — removing an interest doesn't delete your history. Accounts you follow will continue to appear in your feed regardless of whether you have their topic as an interest.
Changing your interests does not unfollow anyone or change your follower list. It only affects what Twitter recommends to you going forward.
Difference between interests and topics you follow
Twitter has two separate systems: interests (which you set in Settings) and topics (which you follow directly). When you follow a topic — like #Technology or a specific news topic — you're telling Twitter you want to see posts tagged with that topic. This is different from setting Technology as an interest in your settings.
Following a topic gives you more control over exactly what you see, because you're choosing a specific hashtag or topic name. Setting an interest is broader — it tells Twitter to recommend anything related to that category, even if you haven't followed a specific topic within it.
You can have an interest in Sports without following any sports topics, or you can follow specific sports topics without having Sports as an interest. Most people use both systems together to fine-tune their feed.
Troubleshooting interests that won't change
If you toggle an interest on or off and the change doesn't seem to stick, try closing the Settings menu completely and reopening it. Sometimes the toggle appears to change but hasn't actually saved. Close Settings, wait a few seconds, and open Interests and Ads again to confirm the change took.
If you're on mobile and the toggles aren't responding, make sure you're using the latest version of the Twitter app. Open your device's app store (Apple App Store or Google Play Store), search for Twitter, and check whether an update is available. Outdated versions sometimes have bugs with settings.
If the entire Interests and Ads section is missing from your Preferences menu, you may be using a restricted account type or your account may have limited access to certain features. This is rare, but if it happens, try logging out completely and logging back in.
Why Twitter recommends certain posts to you
Twitter uses several signals to decide what to show you: the accounts you follow, the posts you like and retweet, the interests you've set, and the topics you follow. Your interests are just one piece of this. Even if you remove all your interests, Twitter will still recommend posts based on who you follow and what you engage with.
If you're seeing posts you don't want to see, you have several options beyond changing interests. You can mute specific words or accounts so their posts don't appear in your feed. You can also report posts that violate Twitter's rules. These tools give you more precise control than interests alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will changing my interests affect who can see my posts?
No. Your interests only control what Twitter shows you, not what other people see. Changing your interests doesn't change your privacy settings or who can view your posts. Your posts remain visible to the same audience they were before.
Can I create custom interests instead of using Twitter's categories?
Twitter doesn't allow you to create custom interests. You can only choose from the categories Twitter provides. However, you can follow specific topics and hashtags to get more targeted recommendations than the broad interest categories offer.
Do my interests show on my profile for other people to see?
No. Your interests are private and visible only to you. Other people cannot see what interests you've selected. They can see the accounts you follow and the topics you follow, but not your interest settings.
How long does it take for my feed to change after I update my interests?
Changes usually take effect within a few minutes. Twitter may take up to an hour to fully update all recommendations based on your new interests, especially if you've made multiple changes at once.
Can I turn off all my interests at once?
You can toggle off each interest individually, but Twitter doesn't have a "clear all" button. If you want to remove all interests, you'll need to go through the list and turn off each category. This takes a few minutes but gives you the option to keep interests you actually want.