Types of Tweets and where they appear
This article outlines where specific types of Tweets will appear on our site and in your or other users' profiles. For instance, have you ever wondered where your reply will appear once you've sent it?
Normal Tweets:
- Definition: Any message posted to Twitter containing up to 140 characters.
- Where it appears for the sender: On the sender's profile page and Home timeline.
- Where it appears for the recipient: In the Home timeline of anyone who is following the sender.
- Places it will never appear: On anyone else's profile page, unless they retweeted the message.
Mentions:
- Definition: A Tweet containing another user's Twitter username, preceded by the "@" symbol, like this: Hello @Support! What's up?
- Where it appears for the sender: On the sender's profile page of public Tweets.
- Where it appears for the recipient: In the recipient's Mentions and Notifications tabs, which is accessible only by them. Additionally, mentions will appear in the recipient's Home timeline view (not on their profile) if they are following the sender. Note: Anyone on Twitter who is following the sender of a mention will see the Tweet in their Home timeline.
- Places it will never appear: On anyone's profile page, unless they wrote the message.
Replies:
- Definition: A Tweet that begins with another user's @username and is in reply to one of their Tweets, like this: @Support I can't believe you thought that movie was cheesy!
- Where it appears for the sender: On the sender's Profile page.
- Where it appears for the recipient: In the recipient's Mentions and Notifications tabs. Like mentions, replies will also appear in the recipient's Home timeline if they are following the sender. Anyone following the sender and the recipient of a reply will see it in their Home timeline.
- Places it will never appear: On anyone's profile page, unless they wrote/sent the message.
Other things you might want to know:
What about Retweets (RTs)?
You'll find Retweets on your Tweets timeline, your profile, and other profile pages on Twitter. To learn more about where Retweets (and your Tweets that have been Retweeted by others) will show up on Twitter, click here.
What about quote Tweets?
The quote Tweet feature allows you to Tweet another person's Tweet with your own comments. Quote Tweets act the same way as normal Tweets. To learn more about quote Tweeting, click here.
Why don't replies sent from accounts with protected Tweets show up anywhere?
By protecting your Tweets (making them private), you're telling us that you don't want anyone to see any of your Tweets unless you've given them the right to follow you. If your Tweets are protected and you send a reply or mention, only those you've approved to view your Tweets will ever be able to see them. If you want to send messages such as mentions or replies to people who are not following you, un-protect your Tweets to make them public.
Where do people's replies appear for other users?
If you're not the sender or recipient of a reply, you may still see a reply to someone else in your timeline.
Users will see replies in their Home timeline if they are following both the sender and recipient of the update. Otherwise, they won't see the reply unless they visit the sender's Profile page.
If you send a reply to someone, it does not show on their profile page. Only replies that person has sent will show on their profile.
What are Promoted Tweets?
For more information about Promoted Tweets, please click here.
Having trouble?
Check out our Tweet & Direct Messages troubleshooting section for solutions to common problems.