Topics on X let you follow conversations around specific interests without tracking down every account that talks about them. When you follow a topic, X pulls related posts into your timeline from accounts you do not follow yet. Useful if your feed feels random, or if you are trying to stay across a niche without spending an hour curating who you follow.
Before getting into the steps, one thing worth flagging: a lot of guides about X Topics in 2026 contain made-up features. Hashtag Channels, Topic Pause buttons, privacy toggles for topics, algorithm refresh settings, and 1,000-topic limits are not real. The steps below are based on what X’s official help documentation actually says.
What Topics on X Are
Topics are curated groups of posts organized around specific interests. X selects which posts belong to a topic based on how people engage with them. Volume and quality of engagement both matter, and X says it tries to filter out posts with manipulated or spammy interactions.
You will find topics covering sports, entertainment, technology, business, finance, media, and plenty of industry-specific conversations. Follow one, and posts labeled “Tweets about [Topic]” start appearing alongside your regular timeline. You do not need to follow the accounts posting them.
How to Follow Topics on Desktop
- Log into x.com
- Click the More icon in the left sidebar
- Select Topics
- Browse suggested categories or search for something specific
- Click Follow next to any topic
X shows suggestions based on your existing activity. If something does not fit, click Not Interested rather than ignoring it. That actually adjusts future suggestions rather than just dismissing the prompt.
How to Follow Topics on Mobile (iPhone or Android)
- Tap your profile icon (top left)
- Tap Topics
- Tap Discover More to browse or search
- Tap Follow next to anything relevant
If the Topics option does not appear in your menu, two things usually fix it: update the app, or switch your language setting to English (US). Regional settings sometimes break topic visibility.
How to Unfollow Topics
From the Topics menu: Go to More → Topics on desktop, or profile icon → Topics on mobile. Tap the button next to any followed topic to remove it.
From your timeline: When a topic post appears, tap the three-dot menu at the top and select Unfollow [Topic Name].
Worth knowing: unfollowing a topic does not fully reset things if you keep engaging with related content. If you consistently like posts about a subject, X will still push that content your way because engagement behavior and topic subscriptions are tracked separately.
Who Can See the Topics You Follow
This is where a lot of people get surprised. Topics you follow are public by default. Anyone who can view your profile can see them by going to your profile, tapping the more icon, and selecting View Topics. There is no separate privacy setting to hide your topics without affecting the rest of your account.
The only way to make topics private is to protect your posts. Protected accounts restrict full profile visibility, including topics, to approved followers only. To do that: Settings and Privacy → Privacy and Safety → Protect your posts.
If you want to browse topics without that information being visible on your profile, a protected account is the only official option X provides.
How X Infers Interests You Never Explicitly Followed
Beyond the topics you manually follow, X builds a separate profile of inferred interests based on your engagement. These affect ads and feed recommendations even if you have never followed a topic directly.
To clean these up:
Mobile: Settings and Privacy → Privacy and Safety → Ad Preferences → See Your X Data → Interests and Ads Data → Interests from X. Deselect anything inaccurate.
Desktop: Go to twitter.com/settings/your_twitter_data/twitter_interests and deselect from there.
Changes take a few days to fully propagate. You may still see old recommendations briefly after adjusting.
Opting Out of Being Featured in a Topic
If your account is active in certain areas, X may list you as a “Known For” source and surface your posts to people who follow that topic, even when they do not follow you. This is good for reach in theory, but sometimes X associates accounts with topics they have no interest in being featured under.
To control it: Your X Data → Interests from X → Known For tab. Deselect any topics you do not want your account featured in. This only affects whether X promotes your posts within that topic. It does not change which topics you follow.
Following Hashtags on X (Workaround)
X does not have a native hashtag-following feature. There is no button that permanently subscribes you to a hashtag feed. The workaround is saved searches:
- Search any hashtag (e.g., #ContentMarketing)
- On the results page, tap the more icon or bell icon
- Select Save Search
Your saved search then appears as a one-tap shortcut whenever you open the search bar. It does not inject posts into your main timeline the way topics do, but it gives you quick access to that hashtag’s latest content whenever you want it.
For tracking industry hashtags alongside broader search visibility, our guide on Twitter SEO covers how X’s search algorithm factors in engagement patterns.
Getting Better Topic Recommendations
Engage deliberately. The algorithm learns from what you like, repost, and reply to, not just what you follow. If you follow a broad topic like “Marketing” but consistently engage with paid media content specifically, your feed will gradually reflect that over time.
Use Not Interested proactively. Most people ignore suggestions they do not like. Actually tapping Not Interested adjusts future suggestions more effectively than just scrolling past.
Keep your bio accurate. X uses your profile text as one signal for topic recommendations. If your bio mentions your actual interests or industry, topic suggestions tend to be more relevant.
Stay focused. A list of 20 to 40 well-chosen topics produces a better feed than following 150 and getting noise across all of them. The Topics menu shows up to 100 of your followed topics at once. To see your complete list, go to Your X Data.
When a topic feed starts feeling stale or irrelevant, the practical fix is unfollowing anything that no longer fits, adjusting inferred interests through Your X Data, and giving the algorithm a few days to recalibrate. For a broader feed overhaul, the Twitter algorithm reset guide covers additional options.
Troubleshooting
Topics not visible in menu: Update the app. Switch language to English (US). Log out and back in.
Feed is full of irrelevant topic content: Unfollow topics you no longer care about. Use Not Interested on recurring suggestions. Clean up inferred interests via Your X Data.
Cannot see someone else’s topics: Their account is likely protected. Protected accounts restrict topics visibility to approved followers.
Followed topics not appearing in your timeline: This can happen when an account hits certain action caps. Our breakdown of Twitter rate limits explains the restrictions that affect feed behavior.
Topic feeds look spammy or low quality: Some topics attract a lot of bot activity. Unfollowing and switching to a more specific variation usually improves quality. If your own account is pulling in fake followers, removing them keeps your engagement signals cleaner, which the bot follower removal guide covers step by step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The Topics menu has a search function and you can also search keywords in the main search bar. X suggests related topics in the results.
Desktop: More icon in the left sidebar. Mobile: your profile icon menu.
No. Save a hashtag search instead, that is the closest equivalent available.
Yes, unless your posts are protected. Anyone viewing your profile can see your topics via More → View Topics on your profile page.
Settings → Your X Data → Interests from X. Deselect whatever does not apply.
topics based on inferred interests? Settings → Your X Data → Interests from X. Deselect whatever does not apply.
Desktop: More → Topics. Mobile: profile icon → Topics. Your followed topics appear at the top. The complete list including inferred interests is in Your X Data.
Yes, if their account is not protected. Go to their profile, tap the more icon, and select View Topics.
Alex Bennett is an entrepreneur whose practical tips have helped thousands improve their careers and grow with confidence.