01 / Before you begin
Before you begin
Names and availability can vary by app version, account and region.
X can be useful for public conversation. But choosing who sees a post, limiting advertising personalization, and controlling Grok training are separate decisions. Start with the one that matches your concern, then review the others. You can review Grok, advertising and contact controls while keeping your posts public.
02 / Your audience
Choose your audience
X says posts are public by default. Protected posts are limited to followers, but existing followers retain access. Followers can capture and reshare them; authorized third-party apps may also have access. Protection is not a promise that nobody can copy what you share. X also warns that shared media links are not themselves protected. X: public and protected posts
If you want to limit posts to followers, open Settings and privacy → Privacy and safety → Audience and tagging → Protect your posts. If you choose protection, also review your existing audience. If you later switch protection off, previously protected posts become public. X: protect your posts
03 / Grok & training
Review Grok separately
X may share public data and Grok interactions with xAI for training. Under Privacy and safety → Data sharing and personalization → Grok & Third-party Collaborators, switch off the training permission under Data Sharing. Review Grok Personalization separately. X says protected posts are excluded from Grok training and query responses. X: About Grok
Important limits: the training setting covers model creation/fine-tuning, not learning during ordinary use of deployed Grok-powered features. Voluntary response feedback can permit conversation training despite opting out. To clear chats, X documents Privacy and safety → Data sharing and personalization → Grok → Delete Conversation History; deletion takes up to 30 days, with security/legal exceptions. The help page uses different Grok labels for these controls. X: About Grok
If you also use standalone Grok, review its own controls: Grok.com → Settings → Data → Improve the Model, or Grok app → Settings → Data Controls → Improve the model. The Grok consumer FAQ says opting out excludes new conversations; feedback remains an exception. Do not assume changing an X setting changes every separate service. Grok consumer FAQ
04 / Ads & off-X activity
Limit off-X personalization
Under Settings and privacy → Privacy and safety → Off-X activity, review the controls for using places you see X content across the web and personalization based on inferred identity. Also review Ad preferences → Personalized ads. X's cookie policy explains that ads based on X activity remain; these controls do not mean no ads or no data processing. Previously learned browsing information can continue influencing personalization. X cookie policy
That policy says it does not store/use these webpage visits for future personalization in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Certain subscription features have necessary-storage exceptions. Logged-out settings affect that browser, not your signed-in account everywhere. X cookie policy
05 / Synced contacts
Stop syncing contacts, and remove old uploads
Open Settings and privacy → Privacy and safety → Discoverability and contacts. Turn off address-book syncing. Turning it off on one device does not remove uploaded contacts or stop another device syncing. Use Remove all contacts; on desktop, open Manage contacts first. X says removal also disables account contact syncing across previously connected devices, though updates can take time. X contact controls
In the same section, review whether people may find you by email or phone. This is distinct from uploading your own address book: other people may have uploaded your details. Your email/phone are not publicly displayed merely because discoverability is enabled. X discoverability
06 / Location & access
Review location and account access
X documents an in-app precise-location control under Settings and privacy → Privacy and safety → Precise location (in its Location/Safety section). Also review X's location permission in your phone settings. Its help page's device labels can differ from newer operating systems. Do not confuse denying GPS access with removing all location information. X precise location
Review connected apps and active sessions in Apps and sessions. Revoke apps you no longer use; logging out a session does not necessarily erase data already cached on that device. X app/session controls
For an account record, request Settings and privacy → Your account → Download an archive of your data. X describes the export as containing posts, messages and other account data. X data access
07 / The Grav difference
Where Grav is different
Grav describes invite-only Feeds, chronological feeds and no engagement algorithm, not a replacement for every public conversation. Its policy says no advertising/data sales or cross-app tracking. Grav still stores account, content and operational data; Messages are server-backed and stored for delivery, synchronization and other disclosed purposes. Private does not mean zero storage or end-to-end encryption. Grav home · Grav privacy policy
08 / What remains
What this guide cannot establish
The reviewed training controls are not evidence of retroactive removal from already-trained models. Check the linked documentation if a setting is absent; do not substitute an advertising toggle for an AI-training choice.
Sources & references
Original documentation behind this guide, last checked October 29, 2026. A source check is not necessarily a change to the advice.
Change history
Added sourced X audience, Grok, advertising, contact and account-access controls, with a scoped Grav storage comparison.
If a label or policy has changed, tell us what you found. Please do not send private photos, passwords or account details.