Reporting spam on Twitter

What is spam?

"Spam" refers to a variety of prohibited behaviors that violate the Twitter Rules. Spam can be generally described as unsolicited, repeated actions that negatively impact other users. This includes many forms of automated account interactions and behaviors as well as attempts to mislead or deceive users. Behaviors that constitute "spamming" on Twitter will continue to evolve.

There is a list of examples of what constitutes “spamming” in the Twitter Rules. Here are some common tactics that spam accounts often use:

Posting harmful links (including links to phishing or malware sites)
Aggressive following behavior (mass following and mass un-following for attention)
Abusing the @ reply or @ mention function to post unwanted messages to users
Creating multiple accounts (either manually or using automated tools)
Posting repeatedly to trending topics to try to grab attention
Repeatedly posting duplicate updates
Posting links with unrelated tweets

How to report a profile for spamming:

If you think you've found a spam profile, follow these steps to report it to us:

Visit the spam account's profile.
Click or tap the gear icon. This brings up a drop-down actions menu.
Select Block or Report.
If you do not wish to block this account, uncheck the Block option.
Select This is a spam account.

You can find out more about the block feature on our Blocking users on Twitter help page. This page also shows you how to unblock an account if you've changed your mind.

Reporting individual Tweets:

You can also report individual Tweets that are in violation of the Twitter Rules or our Terms of Service. This includes spam, harassment, impersonation, copyright, or trademark violations.

How to report a Tweet for spamming:

Navigate to the Tweet you’d like to report.
Click or tap the more icon (••• icon on web and iOS; icon on Android).
Select Block or Report.
If you do not wish to block this account, uncheck the Block option.
To file the report, select This Tweet is spam and then Report or Submit.

How to report other harmful accounts:

If you find other harmful, annoying, or illegal content on Twitter, please view our help page for information on how to file Terms of Service or Rules complaints.

What can I do to protect myself from spam on Twitter?

You can help protect your account by following some easy precautions, discussed here.

What can cause spam to spread on Twitter?

Harmful links (including links to phishing or malware sites)
Malicious 3rd party apps that automatically post harmful links or administer spammy actions (follows, favs, retweets, etc.)
Compromised or hacked accounts used for spammy activities or actions

What is Twitter doing to stop spam?

Twitter takes fighting spam seriously, and we want our users to enjoy the service without being concerned about spam. Our anti-spam team continues to evolve and respond to new forms of spam to enable a spam-free environment on Twitter.

While we have systems and tools to detect spam on Twitter, we also rely on our users to report spamming.