Help Center

Unsafe links on Twitter

If you see a warning about an unsafe link on Twitter, this means the URL matches a database of potentially harmful URLs which may lead to phishing, malware, or spam sites or sites associated with a violation of Twitter’s Terms of Service. You may see this warning when:

  • you Tweet a particular link
  • you add a particular link to your profile
  • you visit a particular link through Twitter's link service, http://t.co

What's a potentially unsafe site?

Unsafe sites may include phishing sites that attempt to steal your login information and password, sites that download malicious software onto your computer, spam sites that request personal information, or sites associated with other violations of Twitter’s Terms of Service. This could also mean the website was compromised at some point, and malware was embedded onto the website.

My website is being flagged as unsafe:

If you manage the website of a URL flagged as unsafe, contact Twitter Support. If the URL of the site you manage is being blocked, and you are completely sure that your site is not being used on Twitter for malware, phishing, spam or other violations of Twitter’s Terms of Service, you can contact our Support team by filing a case here. In the Problematic link field, please insert the extended URL of the link you are having issues with, rather than a shortened version.

Why does Twitter flag URLs as unsafe?

Twitter flags URLs for account security, user safety, and for violations of our Terms of Service. Twitter flags potentially unsafe URLs, in order to make Twitter more secure, prevent phishing and scams, and enforce our Terms of Service. In certain circumstances, Twitter may block the posting of potentially unsafe URLs. Twitter works with various external partners to evaluate links and whether or not they are safe. Our Account security tips article has more general information on keeping your account secure.

If you encounter spam or malware links:

Help keep Twitter spam-free by reporting spam or links directly from the offending account’s profile or Tweet(s). For more information and instructions, visit our Reporting spam on Twitter article.