How to bypass the Twitter API and access everything.
Despite limitations of the official Twitter API*, users continue to discover alternative methods for retrieving internal data from their own accounts — and even others'. One such method gained attention in the community after a user shared that, via browser developer tools, it’s possible to access a wealth of hidden data that the API doesn’t expose.
By opening developer tools and filtering network requests by fetch/XHR, you can find a request called UserByScreenName. This request contains extensive details about any public Twitter account. When copied as a PowerShell command, it automatically includes valid authorization and CSRF tokens — enabling the request to be executed with no extra configuration.
The response includes not only standard profile data but also more sensitive metadata — such as whether the user is flagged as NSFW, subject to regional restrictions, or even marked as a "protected" account. This last label, while not entirely transparent in meaning, may indicate a higher level of privacy or moderator oversight.
Even more attention was drawn to the ability to access Direct Messages (DMs). With similar network requests, users can retrieve the entire DM structure — from unread messages to emoji reactions and all associated metadata. And this isn’t limited to active accounts — it was discovered that even messages from blocked or deleted accounts can still be accessed if they were part of the current session.
While no clear vulnerabilities have been identified in these requests that would pose a direct security threat, the sheer amount of accessible data raises questions — especially since much of it is undocumented and unavailable through official APIs. This suggests that Twitter's internal services expose significantly more information than is publicly acknowledged.
So far, the discovered methods appear to highlight how Twitter’s frontend communicates with its backend, rather than present a major risk. However, the original author has stated they would report any real vulnerabilities via HackerOne's official bug bounty program. Until then, findings like these remain a fascinating look at just how much can be learned about the platform — without ever using the API.