How To Report Spam on Twitter

• Alerts us that the account is a possible spam account, and
• Blocks the account from following you or replying to you

This action doesn’t immediately or definitely cause an account to be suspended, but it’s an important tool we use to identify and investigate spam accounts.

What is spam?

“Spamming” can describe a variety of different behaviors. Here are some common tactics that spam accounts often use:

• Posting harmful links (including links to phishing or malware sites)
• Abusing the @reply function to post unwanted messages to users
• Creating lots of accounts or using automated tools to create multiple accounts
• Spamming trending topics to try to grab attention
• Repeatedly posting duplicate updates
• Posting links with unrelated tweets
• Aggressive following behavior (for instance, mass following and un-following in order to gain attention)

Behaviors that constitute “spamming” will continue to evolve as we respond to new tactics by spammers. You can find a more comprehensive list of spam behavior in the Twitter Rules.

How do I report spam?

When you’re logged in to your Twitter account, you can report a user as spam directly from their profile page. Look for the “report for spam” link in the Actions section of the user’s right sidebar. You can also find this link in the drop-down Actions menu.

When you click on this link, you’ll see a pop-up message asking you to confirm your report. Hit “OK” and you’re done. We’ll also block the user from following you or from replying to you.

(Note: If you want to block a user, but not report them as spam, you can find out how on the Blocking Users help page. This page also shows you how to unblock an account if you’ve changed your mind).

What happens when I report an account as spam?

Twitter’s Trust and Safety Team looks at user reports of spam in combination with other signals for spam investigation. You may not immediately or definitely see this account suspended. Once you’ve reported an account as spam, it is no longer able to follow you or reply to you.