How to Find Contacts on Twitter in 3 Steps

Twitter brings you the latest news and entertainment updates. If your current feeds feel boring, it’s time to seek fresher ones from people you know. Social media lets you meet and interact with new friends. Even so, interacting with people you know can be gratifying, especially if you have similar interests. Luckily, Twitter provides an easy way to find your contacts and connect with them. Dive in as we discuss ways to find your phonebook contacts on Twitter. 

Method 1: Find Contacts by Syncing Contacts

You can customize your settings to allow your Twitter account to sync your contact list into the application. You can sync contacts on Twitter via the web or Twitter app. Here’s how

On the Web 

Step 1: Log in to your Twitter account 

Launch your browser and go to the Twitter website. Enter your Twitter account username and password. This will open your Twitter account feeds. 

Step 2: Go to Settings and Privacy 

Go to the left sidebar menu and click more. Under more, select settings and support, then settings and privacy. 

Step 3: Go to discoverability and contacts 

Select privacy and safety, then discoverability and contacts. This is the last option under the privacy and safety menu. 

Step 4: Manage your contacts 

Under discoverability and contacts, check the boxes next to ‘Let people who have your email address find you on Twitter’ and ‘Let people who have your phone number find you on Twitter.’ After that, select manage contacts. 

Step 5: Confirm your password 

Enter your password and select confirm. After tapping ‘Confirm,’ Twitter can access your contacts on any device logged into your Bird account. For this to work, you must have a Twitter app registered using the same account details on your phone. 

On Your Phone

Use these tips to find contacts on Twitter from your Android or iOS smartphone. 

Step 1: Open the Twitter app 

Download the Twitter app on Apple Store or Play Store and enter your account login details to log in. If you already have the app on your phone, tap it, and it directly leads you to your feeds.

Step 2: Go to settings and privacy 

Tap the profile icon at the top left corner to open a menu. Under the menu, select settings and support, then settings and privacy. 

Step 3: Go to privacy and safety

Select privacy and safety on the list of options under settings and privacy. 

Step 4: Go to discoverability and contacts 

Under settings and privacy, select discoverability and contacts. It’s the last option under the ‘Your Twitter activity’ menu. 

Step 5: Sync your contacts 

Under ‘Discoverability and Contacts,’ tap the button to sync address book contacts. You’ll get a prompt to ‘Allow Twitter to access your contacts?’ Click ‘Allow.’ After enabling this option, Twitter will scan your address book identifying people in your contacts who are on Twitter. This step may take longer if you have a large contact list. 

After this process, you will see a list of people in your contacts with Twitter accounts. Tap the follow button next to their names to follow them. These contacts will also be in the people-to-follow section.

When finding contacts by syncing, remember;

• You need to turn on the ‘Let other people find you by email’ and ‘Let other people find you by phone features for you to find others.
• You may need help finding your contact on Twitter if they have turned off the ‘Let other people find you by phone feature.’

Method 2: Finding Contacts by Username

If you know the username of persons in your contacts on Twitter, you can directly search for the name without going through settings. Here is how to do this.

Through the Twitter web 

Step 1: Log in to your Twitter account 

Search for www.twitter.com and enter your login account details if necessary to continue. 

Step 2: Search for the username

On the top right corner of the Twitter screen, enter the username of the person you want to search for and hit enter. 

Step 3: Select a specific person

Select the username you were looking for among the search results. Click ‘Follow’ next to their username to request to follow them. 

Searching for a Username on Your Phone

Use these steps if you are using the Twitter app on your phone.

Step 1: Open the Twitter app 

Click on the app with a bird icon to open Twitter. Enter your account’s username and password if necessary to log in. 

Step 2: Search for the username

Click on the search icon found at the top of your Twitter page and enter the username you want to search. Click the search icon at the bottom right corner to find your contact. 

Step 3: Select your choice among the results 

Tap the name of the person you were looking to view their profile and confirm if it’s them. To follow someone, click the follow option to the right of their username. 

Although searching using the username is faster, it’s unreliable if you don’t know the Twitter username. Additionally, it can be slow if you are looking for more than one person from your contacts. 

Method 3: Use the Who-To-Follow Feature

You could use the ‘Who-to-Follow’ feature to find contacts on Twitter if you had previously synced your contacts to Twitter. This feature can also appear as ‘Suggestions to Follow’ or ‘You might like.’ It’s ideal for use if you don’t have an address book. Here are the steps to follow.

Step 1: Open Twitter on the web 

Log in to Twitter by searching www.twitter.com. 

Step 2: Go to the who to follow section

On the Twitter home page, scroll down until you locate who to follow at the right corner. Who to follow is below trends for you. 

Step 3: See all suggestions 

Select see more under who to follow to see more suggestions. 

Step 4: Follow the contact

Scroll through the list of suggestions until you locate the person you are looking for on Twitter. If the person has a Twitter account and you have synced your contacts, you will find their username on the suggested followers’ list. Once you locate the name, click the ‘Follow’ option, usually on the right of the username, to follow them. 

For a helpful video on this method, simply check out the one below:

Removing Contacts Synced on Twitter

After you’ve synced your contacts, you may want to remove them from your Twitter account. It eliminates contacts you don’t need to upload on the platform. You can either use a phone or a computer. However, you can only selectively remove contacts through a computer. 

On your phone, you will do away with all contacts. Follow the steps below to remove contacts synced on Twitter based on the device that you are using.  

Step 1: Go to settings and privacy

Open the Twitter app and, under the menu, select settings and support, then settings and privacy. 

Step 2: Go to privacy and safety

Under settings and privacy, tap on Privacy and Safety to open another menu.

Step 3: Go to Discoverability and Contacts 

Select Discoverability and Contacts under Privacy and Safety to manage your contacts.

Step 4: Remove your contacts

Under Discoverability and contacts, select remove all contacts below the sync address book contacts subheading. 

Step 5: Confirm your choice 

On the confirmation message that pops up, click remove to confirm that you are ready to remove all contacts. 

On the web, the process is pretty much the same as the app.

Step 1: Go to settings and support 

Search for Twitter on your preferred browser and log in to your account. On the left sidebar menu, select more, then settings and support. 

Step 2: Go to privacy and safety 

Click settings and privacy on the options that prompt below settings and support. Under that, select privacy and safety. 

Step 3: Select discoverability and contacts 

Click on discoverability and contacts to manage your contacts. 

Step 4: Remove the contacts 

Under discoverability and contacts, select manage contacts. This will direct you to a new page where you can remove all contacts. Enter your password in the field below and click confirm. 

Step 5: Confirm your action 

If you want to remove all your contacts, click Remove on the confirmation prompt. This will remove all contacts and turn off the sync Twitter to your contacts feature. 

Wrap Up

You can make Twitter a more interactive and enjoyable app by following the people in your contacts list to get their feeds. Thankfully, Twitter developers make this easy for you by providing ways to find these contacts on Twitter. You can use any of the methods above to find your contacts on Twitter and interact with people with similar interests. 

The image featured at the top of this post is ©rafapress/Shutterstock.com.