How to Change Sensitive Content Settings on X (Twitter) in 2026
TL;DR - Quick Answer
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Most guides to this send you to the wrong screen. X has two separate sensitive content controls, and the one nearly everyone links to only changes search results. Here is the current path for both, plus the reasons the setting refuses to move for a lot of people.
Quick answer: On x.com in a browser, go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety, then Content you see and tick "Display media that may contain sensitive content." That is the setting that removes the blur and the "This post may contain sensitive content" interstitial across your feed. A separate checkbox, Content you see, then Search settings, then "Hide sensitive content," controls search results only, so you usually need to change both. The setting is account level and syncs to every device, but it will not turn on at all if your account has no birth date, is recorded as under 18, or has been age restricted where you live.
Jump to: Two settings, not one - Desktop web - Mobile app - Why it is greyed out or missing - What counts as sensitive - What it does not do - FAQ - Related guides
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Two settings, not one
This is the whole reason people change a setting and see no difference.
If you turned on the media setting and sensitive posts still do not appear when you search a hashtag, the search checkbox is the one you missed.
Change it on desktop web
The browser version at x.com is the most reliable place to do this, on any operating system.
- Click More in the left sidebar, then Settings and privacy.
- Open Privacy and safety.
- Under Your X activity, click Content you see.
- Tick Display media that may contain sensitive content. The change applies as soon as you tick it; there is no separate save step on this screen.
- Still under Content you see, open Search settings and untick Hide sensitive content.
Shortcut: the URL x.com/settings/content_you_see drops you straight on the right screen once you are logged in.
To go the other way and hide sensitive media again, untick the box and leave "Hide sensitive content" ticked.
Change it in the mobile app
Android: Tap your profile picture, then Settings and Support, Settings and privacy, Privacy and safety, Content you see. Turn on the sensitive media option, then open Search settings and turn off Hide sensitive content. Reporting on recent Android builds also describes a Sensitive media sub screen where each category (graphic violence, adult content, other) can be set to Warn, Show all, or Never show. Not every app version shows that screen, so treat it as a bonus rather than a requirement.
iPhone and iPad: the option is widely reported as absent from the X app on iOS, and has been for years, because of Apple's App Store rules on content that lets users unlock adult material inside an app. The workaround is simple and permanent: open x.com in Safari or Chrome, change it there, and the setting applies to your account everywhere, including the iOS app. You do not need to keep using the browser afterwards.
Guidance on iOS conflicts across sources, and X ships interface changes without announcing them, so if you do see the toggle in your iPhone app, use it. If you do not, the browser route is the one that works.
Why the setting is missing or greyed out
This is the actual question behind most searches, and almost no guide answers it. Work down this list in order.
1. Your account has no birth date. X does not let accounts without a birth date on file see posts marked as sensitive. Reporting on X's June 2024 adult content policy update put it plainly: the platform "doesn't allow users under 18 or those who haven't entered their birth dates on their profile to see such posts." Add one at Settings and privacy, Your account, Account information, Birth date, then retry the toggle.
2. Your account says you are under 18. Same rule, harder problem. An account whose recorded birth date is under 18 has no route to the setting, and X limits how often the birth date can be edited, so an early typo is not always self serviceable. That is a support ticket, not a settings change.
3. Your region requires age assurance. Since 26 July 2025, X has run age checks tied to the UK Online Safety Act, the Irish Online Safety Code, and the EU Digital Services Act, and reporting says the checks were rolled out globally rather than only in those markets. Verification is done by facial age estimation from a live selfie or by government ID, and accounts X cannot confidently place over 18 get defaulted into the restricted setting. In that state the toggle is present but has no effect until you pass a check.
4. You are on the iOS app. See the section above. Nothing is broken; the control is simply not built into that app.
5. You are logged out. Sensitive media is hidden for logged out visitors regardless of any setting. Log in first.
6. The post is age restricted rather than merely sensitive. Some posts sit behind a stricter age gate than the standard sensitive label, and the general toggle does not open those. Nothing in the settings menu bypasses that layer.
If you are stuck between reasons 1 and 3, the quick test is whether the checkbox is genuinely disabled, which points at a birth date or age problem, or whether it ticks fine and changes nothing, which points at age assurance or at age restricted posts.
What counts as sensitive content on X
X asks posters to mark their own media, and it also applies flags automatically. Broadly, the flagged categories are:
- Adult content: nudity and sexual behaviour. X formally permitted consensually produced and distributed adult content in a June 2024 rules update, on the condition that it is labelled. So "adult content exists on X" is now a policy fact rather than a loophole.
- Graphic violence: violent or medically graphic imagery.
- Other sensitive media that does not fit the two categories above.
Labelling is an obligation on the person posting. Accounts that post adult media without marking it can have the media flagged for them and can face enforcement, which is why this setting matters to creators as well as to readers.
What this setting does not do
- It does not change what other people see on your posts. Your viewing preference and your own media label are separate controls. If your posts carry a sensitive label, other people still get the warning.
- It does not filter text. The sensitive media flag applies to photos and video. To hide topics, words, hashtags, or emojis you need muted words, which is a different screen entirely.
- It does not stop DMs. Media in direct messages is handled by its own DM settings.
- It is not a per device switch. It is stored on the account, so changing it in a browser changes it in the app.
- There is no "restricted mode." X has no YouTube style restricted mode, despite a lot of guides claiming otherwise. The sensitive media checkbox, the search checkbox, muted words, and blocking are the real controls.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn on sensitive content on X?
Open x.com in a browser, go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety, then Content you see, and tick "Display media that may contain sensitive content". Then open Search settings on the same screen and untick "Hide sensitive content" so flagged posts also appear in search.
Why can I not find the sensitive content setting on my iPhone?
The setting is widely reported as absent from the X app on iOS because of Apple's App Store rules about unlocking adult material inside an app. Change it once at x.com in Safari or Chrome instead. The setting is stored on your account, so it then applies inside the iOS app as well.
Why is the sensitive content setting greyed out or missing?
The usual reasons, in order: your account has no birth date on file, your recorded birth date is under 18, your account is subject to age assurance checks in your region, you are using the iOS app, or you are logged out. Adding a birth date fixes the most common case. An account recorded as under 18 cannot enable it at all.
Do I have to change the setting on every device?
No. Sensitive media preferences are stored on your X account, not on the device, so a change made in a browser applies to the Android and iOS apps on the same account. You do need to set it again on any other account you own.
What is the difference between the sensitive media setting and the search setting?
"Display media that may contain sensitive content" controls whether flagged photos and video are blurred in your timeline, replies, and profiles. "Hide sensitive content", under Search settings, filters flagged posts out of search results only. They are independent, which is why changing one alone often looks like nothing happened.
Does X allow adult content?
Yes. X formally permitted consensually produced and distributed adult content in a rules update in June 2024, provided it is labelled as sensitive. It remains restricted from people under 18, from accounts with no birth date on file, and from anyone who has chosen not to see sensitive media.
Does changing this setting affect what other people see on my posts?
No. This is a viewing preference for your own feed. Whether your posts carry a sensitive media warning for other people is controlled separately by the sensitive media label you apply when posting, and by any label X applies to your media.
Can I filter only violence but still see adult content?
On desktop web the control is a single checkbox that covers all flagged media, so no. Some Android app versions show a Sensitive media screen with a separate Warn, Show all, or Never show choice per category, which is the closest thing to category level filtering that X offers.
Sourcing note
X's help centre blocks automated readers, so nothing on this page is quoted from it. The setting labels and menu paths above are as reported consistently across current hands on guides and as they appear in the product. The June 2024 adult content policy change and the July 2025 age assurance rollout come from news reporting on X's own announcements. Menu wording on X changes without notice, so if a label has moved, the section it sits in, "Content you see", has been stable for years and is the place to look.
Related guides
- How to mute words on X (Twitter) for filtering topics, hashtags, and emojis that no sensitive media flag will catch
- How to make a Twitter account public if you are auditing your privacy settings generally
- X character limits explained for what you can actually fit in a post
- How to tell if someone blocked or deactivated on Twitter when content disappears for a reason that is not a content filter
- How to fix a locked X account if age or birth date changes triggered a lock
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