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Twitter Search by Location in 2026: What Still Works

We tested Twitter search by location: near: and geocode: now return nothing. These city and country searches still find posts and accounts on X.


Published · Updated · 7 min read

Cover image: Location search, tested

Twitter search by location barely works in 2026: near: and geocode: found nothing in our tests, so search for the place name instead.

This guide is for marketers, reporters and researchers who want posts or accounts from one city on X (Twitter). You get the searches that still work, our test results, and an API route. We run Weir, the API in Step 5.

Paste this into X's search box with your city, then pick Latest:

(#London OR "in London") lang:en -filter:replies
  1. Skip near: and geocode:They match almost no posts now.
  2. Search the place nameA phrase, a hashtag and lang:.
  3. Use the People tabThen read each location line.
  4. Check the countryRead "account based in" on the profile.
  5. Watch the city's TrendsSet your Trends location.
  6. Go by APISearch accounts, then read each country.

Does Twitter search by location still work?

Not in any useful way. Many guides still recommend the location operators, so we ran them through Weir's search, which passes your query to X as typed:

0posts for rain near:London within:20km, 22 October
0posts for geocode:51.5074,-0.1278,20km, 21 October
3posts for rain London, the most we asked for

Twitter also dropped precise location tags in June 2019, except from its in-app camera. Its support account said "most people don't tag their precise location in Tweets."

X's Help Center still lists a Places field in Advanced Search, and the X API v2 has place: and point_radius:. They all need the same rare location tags.

Most other operators still work, as our tested list of search operators shows.

Step 1: Search tweets by location with place names

People name the places they write about, so search for the name. Copy the pattern you need:

To find Type into X search
Posts about a city "in London" OR #London
Only the London you mean London -Ontario -Canada
Posts in the local language Paris lang:fr
Popular local posts #London min_faves:100
A local topic "in London" (rain OR flood)

Our free X advanced search builder writes these from a form. To pin one to a single day, add since: and until:, as in searching tweets by date.

Watch for name matches. A search word can match the author's name, not just the post. Our rain London test returned a post about rain in Los Angeles, because the author's display name was London.

A phrase avoids that. In our 22 October run, both posts from the string at the top said "in London" in the text.

Step 2: Search people by location on X

To find accounts in a city, type its name into X's search box and pick the People tab. Add a word for the kind of account you want, such as news, council or club.

On 22 October 2026, we ran London news through Weir's account search, which uses X's people search. All five accounts had London in their name. Three of them, trimmed:

[
  { "username": "AM980News", "name": "980 CFPL London News", "location": "London, Ontario" },
  { "username": "londonartnews", "name": "London Art News", "location": "London, England" },
  { "username": "LondonNow", "name": "London Events", "location": "London" }
]

Read each profile's location line next. X's Help Center calls it "completely optional" and "your place to express yourself," so it can say anything.

One of our London results turned out to be a radio station in Ontario, Canada.

X's search filters won't fix this, because for location they offer only "Everywhere or Near you."

Step 3: Check the country an account is based in

For the country, read X's "account based in" label instead of the bio.

X's Help Center says it infers this "based on your aggregated IP addresses." The label sits on the About this account screen, which opens from the Joined date on a public profile.

We checked the Ontario station through Weir's API on 22 October:

{
  "username": "AM980News",
  "aboutProfile": {
    "accountBasedIn": "Canada",
    "locationAccurate": false,
    "source": "Canada App Store"
  }
}

X placed it in Canada, but locationAccurate: false means X itself doubts that country. Our guide to account based in on X explains every label.

Step 4: See what a city is talking about

Trends still work by place. X's Help Center says you can view Trends "for a specific location" on x.com, iOS or Android:

  1. On x.com, click Change in your Trends box and search for a place.
  2. In the app, go to Settings and privacy, Privacy and safety, Content you see, then Explore settings.
  3. Turn off Show content in your current location, then tap Explore locations.

Trends show what's popular now, so use Step 1 for older posts.

Step 5: Find accounts by city with the API

For a list of accounts, search people by API, keep the right locations, then ask for each country:

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.weirapp.io/v1/x/users/search \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $WEIR_API_KEY" \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"query":"London news","limit":5}'

Our run on 22 October 2026 cost 6 credits, one for the call and one per account. A page holds up to 20 accounts, and X may send fewer.

This loop drops the wrong Londons and reads each country:

import os, requests

API = "https://api.weirapp.io/v1/x/users"
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['WEIR_API_KEY']}"}

accounts = requests.post(f"{API}/search", headers=headers, timeout=60,
                         json={"query": "London news", "limit": 20}).json()["data"]
for account in accounts:
    place = (account["location"] or "").lower()
    if "london" not in place or "ontario" in place:
        continue  # no London, or the one in Canada
    r = requests.get(f"{API}/{account['username']}/about", headers=headers, timeout=60)
    about = r.json()["data"]["aboutProfile"] or {}
    print(account["username"], account["location"], about.get("accountBasedIn"))
21credits for a page of 20 accounts
3credits per country check
5,000free credits every month, with no card

So a full page of accounts with their countries costs 81 credits. Pass meta.nextCursor back for more pages, as the searchXUsers reference explains.

Why is Twitter location search not working?

  • You used near: or geocode:. They need location tags, which are off by default.
  • Near you was on. It searches around you, not a city you choose.
  • A name matched, not a place. Search words also match display names.
  • You found the other London. Exclude it with -Ontario.

When not to use Weir

  • You search one city by hand. X's search box, People tab and Trends are free.
  • Exact coordinates matter. The X API v2 has point_radius:, at $0.005 per post read as of October 2026.
  • The goal is to find a person. That is surveillance, and our policy forbids it.
  • Price per post is all that matters. TwitterAPI.io lists $0.15 per 1,000 tweets, and it can also post.

Weir reads public data only and can't post. X's Terms of Service say you "cannot scrape the Services without X's express written permission," so check what applies to you. This isn't legal advice.

FAQ

Can you search Twitter by location?

Barely. X doesn't reject near:, within: or geocode:, but they returned no posts in our October 2026 tests. Few posts carry a location. Search the place name as a phrase or hashtag instead, and use the People tab to find accounts.

How do I search people on Twitter by location?

Type the city into X's search box and pick the People tab. You get accounts that mention the city, often in their name. Read each location line, then check "account based in" for the country.

Why is Twitter geocode search not working?

It only matches posts tagged with a location, and X turns post location off by default. A circle around central London returned no posts in our 21 October 2026 test. Search the city's name instead.

Can I search Twitter by city or country?

By city, yes: search its name, a phrase like "in Paris" or a local hashtag, and set your Trends to that place. By country, use lang: for the language and the "account based in" label for where accounts are run from.

Sources

All checked on 22 October 2026:

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