How to Find People on Twitter: Your Complete Guide

Cindy Ellis - February 27, 2023

Are you trying to find someone on Twitter but having difficulty finding who you’re looking for? That’s not surprising, as navigating Twitter can be a nightmare when searching for a specific person.

There’s good news, however. If you have one or even a few pieces of information about someone, that is more than enough to track someone’s account down on the platform successfully. While it might seem intimidating, Twitter is designed to make it easy for its users to find who they are looking for and fast.

In this article, we’ll go over some tips and tricks on how to find people on Twitter, whether they are currently known or unknown to you.

Search Twitter

The search bar, normally at the top of the Twitter website or app you are using, is a valuable tool for finding out details and searching for someone. Here are a few different methods for when you’re trying to figure out how to find people on Twitter.

Full Name

If you know someone’s full legal name, then in some instances, you’re already halfway to finding someone. If the person is a public figure in some way, shape, or form, then this technique is even more likely to work.

Simply type in the person’s full name in the search bar at the top of Twitter and see if the name of the person comes up. You are on the right track if there’s a profile photo of the person’s likeness. Once you have verified that this is the person you want to follow, click on their name to be taken to their full profile.

If it’s an especially well-known person, then their Twitter profile will sometimes also have a blue checkmark near their profile. This means that the account is verified and that the individual has been personally vetted and verified by Twitter’s staff to be who they say they are.

Username

If the above technique doesn’t readily find someone, then you can try inputting a common username that you know the person in question utilizes on other platforms. For example, usernames on Twitter are stylized with the “@” symbol and can be entirely different from someone’s profile name.

To search for a username, simply re-do the steps above for someone’s real name, but start with an “@” symbol followed by the username(s) they are known by on other platforms. If there’s a positive result, it will come up quickly in the search bar. Then, click on the username to be whisked away to their profile.

Phone Number

Twitter allows you to search for people with their phone number. However, this option only works when the user you’re searching for connects their phone number to their account. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Twitter app.
2. Find the section in your menu entitled “More,” and then press “Settings and Support,” and then “Settings and Privacy.”
3. Go to “Privacy and Safety.”
4. Press “Discoverability and Contacts.”
5. A section should come up called “Sync Address Book Contacts.” Be sure to turn the slider next to that towards the “on” position.
6. On the same “Discoverability and Contacts” page, click on the section called “Manage Contacts.”
7. In this section, you will find all the people in your address book currently on Twitter.

There’s only one catch to this technique. Not every Twitter user connects their phone number to their account. Public figures won’t do this at all due to privacy concerns and because they usually use outside agencies to handle their social media. So, keep that in mind depending on who you are searching for.

There’s also a distinct possibility that a person might use an alternative phone number or a “burner” phone number to keep their privacy to the maximum level.

Email

Looking up email addresses on Twitter follows a very similar process to phone number searches on the platform. So let’s take a look at how to do this:

1. Open the Twitter app. Be sure the person’s email you want to look up is already in your contacts.
2. Open “Settings and Support.”
3. Now tap “Settings and Privacy.”
4. Now tap “Privacy and Safety.”
5. Tap “Discoverability and Contacts.”
6. Now slide the “Sync Address Book Contacts” switch to the “on” position.
7. After your email contacts are successfully imported, you can now see them in the “Manage Contacts” section. Feel free to follow each and every one of the contacts as you see fit. 

As we mentioned before, whether or not you can search for someone via email is ultimately up to their privacy settings. Not everyone on social media is ready and willing to be easily discovered. There’s also the possibility that the person you are looking for uses an alternative email account.

Use Twitter’s Suggestions

Twitter utilizes tons of advanced algorithmic data to show its users what they want to see in a timely manner. This can be based on numerous factors about the user, including their geolocation and previous search history on the platform.

Here’s an often underutilized tip if you are having trouble finding someone on Twitter. Be aware that this will only be effective if you have a wider network of individuals on Twitter that both you and the person you are searching for know personally.

1. Log into your Twitter account as you usually do.
2. Look at the “Who To Follow” section on your screen’s right-hand side.
3. In this section, you will see a couple of suggestions on who you might be inclined to follow based on fine-tuned data running deep within your profile.
4. If you think the person you are looking for might be on this list, press “Show More” to see the rest of the profiles that Twitter has curated for you.

Use a People Search Tool

Searching for obscure accounts on Twitter can be quite a pain by yourself with traditional means, such as Google searches. In some cases, stumbling onto the Twitter profiles you are actively looking for can be more attributed to sheer luck than internet sleuthing.

Don’t put yourself through all of the stress and potentially waste time doing things the old-fashioned way. Instead, do yourself a favor and utilize accurate and professional-grade reverse search tools like the ones from Information.com.

Reverse search tools can analyze public databases in minutes, like social media accounts, dating apps, arrest records, forum signups, and much more. What would you rather do, waste time trying to find someone that uses every trick in the book to throw you off his tracks or take advantage of the very best that search technology has to offer now? The choice is clear.

Find Anyone On Twitter

The Twitter platform makes it as easy as possible to find people and brands that you love. But, if you are trying to track down a lost family member or perhaps a cheating lover, you might go through some serious hurdles when searching for them on this social media platform.

Don’t waste your time doing things the hard way when trying to find people on Twitter. Instead, use reverse search tools, such as the ones provided by Information.com, and empower your findings with advanced tools that will help you save time as well as your sanity.