How to Allow Delegate Invites on Twitter

Giving a whole team access to a single Twitter account doesn't have to be a mess of shared passwords and security risks. X Pro (the tool formerly known as TweetDeck) has a built-in Teams feature that lets you safely grant access to others without ever handing over your login details. This guide will walk you through exactly how to set up delegation, manage your team, and troubleshoot common issues along the way.

What Exactly is Twitter Delegation (and Why Should You Use It)?

Twitter delegation is a feature within X Pro that allows one account (the "Owner") to invite other Twitter users to post on its behalf. Instead of everyone on your marketing team sharing the same username and password, each person logs in with their own personal account and simply switches over to the delegated account to post.

Think of it like being given a set of keys to a car. You can drive it, but you don't own it, and the owner can take the keys back anytime. This method provides a secure and organized way for agencies, brands, and teams of any size to collaborate on a single Twitter presence.

So, why go through the trouble of setting this up? The benefits are game-changing for any team:

• Stop Passing Around Passwords: Sharing login credentials is a massive security risk. It’s hard to track who has access, and if someone leaves the company, you have to change the password everywhere and inform the entire team. With delegation, you can revoke access for an individual with a single click.
• Maintain Clear Accountability: Each tweet posted by a delegate is attributed to them in the backend. In the X Pro activity log, you can see exactly which team member sent which tweet, eliminating any guesswork or confusion.
• Streamline Your Workflow: Team members don’t have to constantly log in and out of different accounts. They can manage multiple client accounts or brand profiles right from their own X Pro dashboard, making for a much smoother and faster workflow.
• Control Permissions with Roles: Not everyone on your team needs the same level of access. Delegation allows you to assign specific roles, limiting what certain users can do. This ensures a junior marketing assistant can't accidentally change the account's profile picture or remove another user.

Understanding the Team Roles: Owner, Admin, and Contributor

Before you start sending invites, it's important to understand the hierarchy. The "Teams" feature has three distinct roles, each with a different set of permissions. Assigning the right role is the key to both security and productivity.

Owner

The Owner is the main Twitter account that is being shared. There is only one Owner per team. This account holds all the power and is the only account that can manage billing information or make top-level security changes.

Key Permissions of an Owner:

• Can invite and remove Admins and Contributors.
• Can see all tweets scheduled and posted by delegates.
• Has ultimate control over the account and all its settings.
• Can deactivate the account.

Admin

Admins are trusted team members who need a high level of access to manage the account. They are essentially deputies who can perform almost all actions on behalf of the Owner, including managing other team members (except the Owner themselves).

Key Permissions of an Admin:

• Tweet from the account.
• Schedule tweets.
• Like, reply to, and Retweet tweets.
• Follow or unfollow other accounts.
• Create lists and add accounts to them.
• Send Direct Messages.
• Invite new members (both Admins and Contributors).
• Remove existing Admins and Contributors.

Contributor

The Contributor role is the most limited and, for most team members, the most appropriate. It’s designed for users who primarily need to draft, schedule, and publish content. They cannot manage the team itself or make major changes to the account.

Key Permissions of a Contributor:

• Tweet from the account.
• Schedule tweets.
• Like, reply to, and Retweet tweets.
• Follow or unfollow other accounts.
• Create lists.
• Send Direct Messages.
• Note: They cannot invite or remove team members.

A good rule of thumb is to start everyone as a Contributor and only upgrade someone to an Admin if they truly need the ability to manage the team roster.

A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Send Delegate Invites

Ready to build your team? The entire process happens inside X Pro. Here’s how to do it, from start to finish.

1. Log In and Open X Pro

First, log in to the main Twitter account that you want to share - this is your "Owner" account. Once you are logged in on twitter.com, navigate to pro.twitter.com. This will open your X Pro dashboard.

2. Navigate to the "Accounts" Settings

In the bottom-left corner of the screen, you’ll see a navigation bar. Click on the Accounts icon (it looks like two people). This will open up your account settings.

3. Select "Manage team"

In the accounts panel that slides out, you'll see a list of accounts you have access to. Click on the account you want to manage. Underneath the account's name, you will see an option labeled Manage team. Click on it.

4. Invite a Team Member

A "Team" dialog box will appear, showing any existing members. At the top of this box, there's a field labeled "Add team member." Type the Twitter @handle of the person you want to invite. As you type, their profile should appear in a dropdown list. Select the correct user.

Be very careful to choose the exact @handle. Sending an invite to the wrong account is a common mistake and a potential security risk.

5. Assign a Role and Authorize

Once you select a user, you'll be prompted to choose their role. Click the dropdown menu and select either Admin or Contributor. After selecting the role, click the Confirm button.

X will then ask for your password to authorize this change. This is a security measure to prevent unauthorized account additions. Enter your password and complete the authorization.

That's it! The invitation has been sent. The user now has to accept it on their end.

How to Accept a Delegate Invitation on Twitter

Inviting someone is only half the battle. Your team member needs to know how to properly accept the invitation to gain access. Share these steps with them to make the process simple.

1. Check for the Notification

The person you invited will receive a notification within their Twitter or X account. They may also receive a Direct Message letting them know that your account has invited them to join its team.

2. Accept the Invitation

Within the notification, there will be a link or a button to "Accept" the invitation. Clicking this will confirm that they want to join the team.

3. Access the Account via X Pro

Once they've accepted, they need to log in to their personal account and go to pro.twitter.com. To post from the delegated account, they’ll need to open the tweet composer (the blue button in the top left).

At the top of the composer window, they will see their own profile picture. Clicking on it will reveal a dropdown menu listing all the accounts they have access to, including the one you just invited them to. All they have to do is select your brand's account from the list before writing and sending their tweet.

Best Practices for Managing Your Twitter Team

Setting up your team is a great first step, but managing it effectively over time is what protects your brand and keeps your workflow efficient. Here are some essential best practices to follow.

Perform Regular Audits

At least once per quarter, review your team list in X Pro. Are there former employees, interns, or agency partners who still have access? People come and go, and forgetting to remove users is a common vulnerability. Make it a routine to clean out anyone who no longer needs access.

Follow the Principle of Least Privilege

Always grant the minimum level of access required for someone to do their job. For most content creators and community managers, the "Contributor" role is sufficient. Only assign "Admin" status to highly trusted managers who are responsible for the team roster itself. This simple step can prevent a lot of accidental missteps.

Establish and Communicate Your Offboarding Process

Your process for when an employee leaves should be just as structured as when they join. As soon as a team member's tenure ends, their access to the company's Twitter account should be revoked immediately. This should be a mandatory item on your HR and IT offboarding checklists.

Encourage Strong Security on Personal Accounts

Since delegates access your brand account through their personal accounts, the security of their accounts becomes your security. Encourage (or even require) all team members to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on their own Twitter profiles. If their personal account is compromised, the attacker could gain access to your brand's account as well.

Troubleshooting Common Delegation Issues

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Here are a few common hiccups and how to fix them.

• The invitation was never received. Ask the recipient to check their notification feed and their Direct Message requests folder. Sometimes these invites can get lost in the shuffle. If they still can't find it, simply remove the pending invitation from the "Manage team" menu in X Pro and send it again.
• "Manage team" option is missing. This feature is exclusive to X Pro (TweetDeck). Make sure you are on pro.twitter.com, not the standard twitter.com website. Also, confirm you're logged into the "Owner" account.
• An invited member can't tweet from the account. After accepting, they may need to refresh their X Pro dashboard or even log out and log back in for the delegated account to appear in the tweet composer dropdown.
• You reach the delegate limit. X Pro teams have limits on how many delegates can be active at one time. If you hit this limit, you’ll need to remove inactive members before you can add new ones.

Final Thoughts

Using Twitter's delegation feature is one of the smartest moves you can make to secure your brand's account while empowering your team to collaborate effectively. By moving away from shared passwords and implementing role-based access, you create a workflow that is not only safer but also far more organized and accountable.

Managing a social media presence is already a complex job, and team workflows often add another layer of difficulty. We built Postbase because we believe modern social media tools should simplify collaboration, not complicate it. With features like our unified content calendar for planning and a centralized inbox for managing engagement across all your platforms, we focused on making teamwork feel intuitive and streamlined, so you can spend less time juggling tools and more time creating great content.