How to Remove Automation in Twitter

Tired of old, forgotten apps posting on your behalf or seeing your account follow random people? Cleaning up your Twitter automation and revoking access from third-party apps is a simple way to boost your account's security and regain control over your brand's voice. This guide will walk you through exactly how to find and remove unwanted applications connected to your account, audit your existing tools, and shift your strategy toward more authentic engagement.

Why You Should Re-evaluate Your Twitter Automation

In the early days of social media, automation was all about efficiency. Tools that auto-followed, auto-favorited, or auto-DM'd anyone who mentioned a keyword were common. Today, that approach feels spammy and outdated. Your audience craves genuine connection, and Twitter's algorithm favors meaningful conversations over robotic activity. Lingering, forgotten app connections aren't just a bad look for your brand, they're also a security risk.

Every app connected to your profile has a certain level of permission - some can read your tweets, some can see your DMs, and others can post on your behalf. If one of those services gets breached, has its security compromised, or simply isn't a company anymore, that connection becomes a backdoor into your account. Regularly cleaning house is just good digital hygiene. For more details on protecting your account, see our guide on how to change privacy settings on Twitter.

Cutting ties with outdated automation helps you:

• Strengthen Account Security: Reducing the number of connected apps minimizes potential vulnerabilities.
• Improve Your Brand Reputation: Ditching spammy tactics makes your account appear more authentic and trustworthy.
• Align with a Modern Strategy: Shifting from "set-it-and-forget-it" bots to intentional content planning and real-time engagement leads to better results.

Finding Your Connected Apps: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

The first step to removing automation is finding out what’s connected to your account in the first place. You might be surprised by what you find - from old analytics tools and giveaway apps to services you don’t even remember using. Here's how to locate them and revoke their access.

Step 1: Navigate to Your Settings

Log in to your account on the web version of Twitter/X. Once you’re on your timeline, look at the navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Click on the "More" option, which is usually represented by three dots in a circle.

A pop-up menu will appear. From this menu, select "Settings and privacy."

Step 2: Go to "Security and account access"

Inside the main settings menu, you'll see a list of categories like "Your account," "Premium," and "Monetization." Click on the one labeled "Security and account access." This is where you manage everything from your password to two-factor authentication.

Step 3: Open "Apps and sessions"

Under "Security and account access," a new list of options will appear to the right. The one you’re looking for is "Apps and sessions." Click on it to proceed.

Step 4: View Your "Connected apps"

Now you'll see a few different choices. "Sessions" lets you see where your account is currently logged in. The one we need is "Connected apps." Clicking this will reveal a list of every third-party application, website, or service that you have ever granted permission to access your X account.

Step 5: Review and Revoke Access

This is where the audit begins. Go through the list one by one. You'll likely see a mix of things:

• Familiar Tools: Your current social media scheduler, mobile phone OS (like iOS or Android), or analytics platform.
• Forgotten Services: That quiz you took in 2017, a content curation tool you tried a decade ago, or a giveaway app for a single campaign.
• Red Flags: Anything you don't recognize at all.

For each app you want to remove, simply click on its name.

This will bring up a details page showing the name of the app and a description of the permissions it has (e.g., "Read, Write, and Direct Messages"). At the bottom, you'll see a red link: "Revoke app permissions."

Click it. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Confirm your choice, and that's it! The app will be disconnected from your account immediately and will lose all access.

Repeat this process for every single app you no longer use, trust, or recognize. Be thorough. If you're unsure what an app is, it's usually safer to revoke its access. If it happens to be for a service you still use, you can always reconnect it later by logging into that service with X again.

How to Decide What to Cut and What to Keep

Not all connected apps are bad. Modern social media management relies on a few good ones to function efficiently. The goal isn't to disconnect everything but to remove outdated, insecure, or spammy tools. An intentional, well-curated tech stack for Twitter empowers you, a cluttered, forgotten one puts you at risk.

When you're auditing your connected apps list, ask yourself these questions about each one:

1. Do I actively use this tool? If the answer is "no," or "I don't remember," it's an easy decision. Revoke access.
2. What does this tool actually do? Does it help you schedule content thoughtfully? That might be worth keeping. Does it automatically send generic DMs to new followers? That’s probably hurting your brand and should be removed.
3. Does it post without my direct action? Some services, like IFTTT (If This Then That) recipes or 'auto-tweeters,' will post content automatically based on a set of rules. Consider whether this is still aligned with your brand voice. A recipe that auto-shares your new YouTube videos might be helpful. One that tweets every article you ‘like’ on a news site might not.
4. Do I trust this company? Is the app from a reputable, well-known developer, or from a third-party website you used once five years ago? If you don’t trust the source, don't trust the connection.

Tools to Keep vs. Tools to Remove: Common Examples

To give you a better idea, here's a general breakdown of apps you might encounter.

• Good to Keep:
  • Your primary social media scheduling platform.
  • Your analytics and reporting software.
  • Cross-posting tools that you actively manage (e.g., sharing your Instagram posts to Twitter).
  • Trusted creator-centric platforms where you sign in with X.
• Good to Remove:
  • Anything promising "more followers" by auto-following/unfollowing accounts.
  • Automatic direct message (DM) tools. These are almost always perceived as spam.
  • Content curation bots that post articles you haven't approved.
  • Old game apps or "what character are you?" quizzes.
  • One-time-use apps for contests or giveaways that have ended.
  • Any platform you have stopped paying for or using.

Moving Forward: Embracing an Authentic Strategy

Once you’ve Marie Kondo'd your connected apps, you're left with a clean slate. This is the perfect time to refocus your strategy from low-value automation to high-value engagement.

Instead of relying on bots, dedicate time to authentic activities that build real community:

• Schedule Content Intentionally: Use a scheduling tool not to "set and forget," but to plan out a cohesive content calendar. This frees up your time to engage live.
• Participate in Conversations: Don't just broadcast. Jump into relevant discussions, answer questions, and engage with mentions and replies thoughtfully. A real person responding is always better than an automated message.
• Listen to Your Audience: Use Twitter's search and lists to keep an eye on topics related to your industry. Understand what your audience cares about, and create helpful, timely content around it.

The best "automation" in today's social media world isn't about simulating human interaction - it's about handling the predictable parts of a content strategy (like planning and publishing) so you have more time to be human yourself.

Final Thoughts

Taking a few minutes to revoke forgotten app permissions is a powerful step toward securing your Twitter account and building a more authentic brand. By removing outdated automation and embracing a strategy focused on genuine conversations, you align your efforts with what truly works on social media today: real human connection.

Wrestling with clunky, outdated automation tools can make social media feel like a chore. As you transition to a more intentional approach, you need a platform that supports a modern, video-first strategy without the headaches. At Postbase, we built our tool from the ground up to be simple, reliable, and focused on helping you plan and schedule your content across all your platforms seamlessly. Our goal is to give you a clear, visual calendar and rock-solid scheduling so you can spend less time fighting your software and more time engaging with your audience. Give Postbase a try for a smarter, cleaner way to manage your social media.