Industry guru Dave Taylor offers tech support on technical and business topics, including iPhone, iPod, Microsoft Windows, Sony PSP, cellphones, online advertising, CSS, Web design, business, Unix, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, and shell script programming.     


What apps have access to my Twitter account?

Apparently now that Twitter is using OAuth, I can change the password to my Twitter account and the apps retain access. That's pretty alarming! Is there some way to at least know which applications have this level of access to my Twitter account?


Dave's Answer:

There are a lot of cool things about the change to OAuth, most notably that third party apps no longer have any reason to store your Twitter account credentials, which is a huge boon. On the other hand, you're exactly right that the implication of this is that you need to actively disallow applications from having access to your Twitter account and that simply changing your password is not enough.

Kinda freaky, really, if you're used to your login and password being the ultimate credential for gaining access to your account. Brave new world, and all that!

Twitter makes it reasonably easy to see what apps you've enabled, so let me show you how to check your own account and how to disable any app you don't think should have access to your account.

The first step is to click on "Settings" on the top right:

twitter manage authorized apps 1

Now click on "Connections"...

twitter manage authorized apps 2

Finally, we've reached the page where the list of Twitter apps you have approved to access your account via OAuth are shown:

twitter manage authorized apps 3

Quite a list, and that's not all of them. My reaction: "What the deuce?!" I can't possibly need to have so many applications authorized to access my Twitter account!

To demonstrate how to prevent an app from accessing my Twitter account, I'll "Revoke Access" to the Boxee app, since I'm not using it anyway:

twitter manage authorized apps 4

That's how you see which apps have access to your account. Now the question is: which ones really need to have access? My suggestion: err on the side of revoking access to any app you don't understand or approve of. You can always re-authorize them if you find that something's not working right any more!


More Useful Twitter, LinkedIn and Social Network Help Articles:
✔   How do I search for a job on LinkedIn?
This may be a bit obvious, but I'm looking for work and am unclear how I can use LinkedIn to find positions other...
✔   Add a header graphic to my Twitter profile?
I heard from a colleague that Twitter's added profile pictures a la Facebook's timeline photo on the top. Nice, but how do I...
✔   Export LinkedIn Profile as a PDF Resume?
I've spent the last year or two updating and adding to my LinkedIn profile and it has a ton of information about me....
✔   How do I block an iPad app from accessing Twitter?
My son installed an app on my iPad and now it's posting updates on my Twitter account when he plays. What the deuce?...
✔   Repost a Facebook photo on Instagram?
I post a lot of photos on Facebook and sometimes want to share them with my Instagram followers. You can automatically mirror an...

Let's stay in touch!
Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!
    Enter your name: and your email addr:  





Categorized: Twitter, LinkedIn and Social Network Help   (Article 9621, Written by )
Tagged: oauth, twitter, twitter security
Previous: Can I block Facebook status updates from specific apps?
Next: What is a "retina display"?




Reader Comments To Date: 2

kimya said, on October 18, 2010 5:10 AM:

ill use this way, tnx for your help

Nigel Copley said, on December 19, 2010 1:54 PM:

Thanks for the useful post dave, i just had to revoke access and wondered this.

Maybe twitter should change the name from connections to something that resembles what it is - App Access :-)

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.






Check This Out Too...

 
Look for Answers
Need Help? Ask Dave Taylor!


Follow Me on Pinterest

Find Me on Google+
ADT on G+
© 2002 - 2013 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. My lawyer says "Thanks".
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.